Seventeen-year-old Pippa Fane is the newest recruit to the Midlands City Ballet and she is invited to go on their Italian tour. In Venice she catches the attention of Nicolo, a gondolier, and also the approaches of her ballet mistress who persuades the Director to let her dance a coveted role.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Set in 20th-century Venice, this effervescent, thoroughly enchanting modern-day fairy tale is spiked with a handful of up-to-date plot twists. At 17, lovely, fresh-scrubbed Pippa Fane is the youngest, least experienced member of an English dance troupe on tour in Italy. Arriving in Venice, Pippa is swept away by the ancient city's magic-and intrigued by Nicolo, the handsome gondolier whom she twice encounters on the first day of her stay. Nicolo, protege of the gracious Marchesa dell'Orlando, pursues Pippa, hoping that she will sing with his band when they play at the prestigious Hotel Imperiale. Meanwhile, Pippa's dancing career leaps ahead, thanks to a convenient accident and the machinations of the company's ballet mistress, Angharad Fullerton. Unfortunately, Angharad is not the fairy godmother Pippa imagines, and her attempted seduction of the young dancer results in an ugly, disturbing mess. With the help of the marchesa, however, Pippa triumphs as both a dancer and a singer. When the time comes to choose between her blossoming career as a dancer and a role offering a more conventional happy ending, Pippa mines wisdom from her recent experiences to make the right decision. In less able hands, these highly romantic goings-on would seem contrived, but Godden's graceful storytelling keeps readers enthralled, with gorgeous Venice and the nitty-gritty of the dance troupe's routine providing a convincing backdrop for her winsome ingenue.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The ever-popular, prolific Godden (Coromandel Sea Change, LJ 9/1/91) grapples with themes of lost innocence and incipient maturity in her most recent novel. The eponymous teenage heroine, Pippa Fane, is the youngest member of the Midlands City Ballet. Chosen to go with the com-pany on its Italian tour, she becomes fascinated with Venice, confused by romantic overtures from admirers of both sexes, and challenged by the demands of her dancing troupe. Essentially a rite-of-passage story, this work is also a paean to the eternal beauty of Venice, and balletomanes will relish Godden's detailed portrayal of the dancer's milieu. The characters are a bit unconvincing, but Godden is a first-rate storyteller, skillfully combining a vivid sense of place with an optimistic plot to create a light, engaging novel. A good choice for public libraries.
Sister M. Anna Falbo, Villa Maria Coll. Lib., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sister M. Anna Falbo, Villa Maria Coll. Lib., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wouldn't It Be Lovely?,
This review is from: Pippa Passes (Paperback)
A curiously charming romance that is almost all wish-fulfillment fantasy. No one could be so lucky, so beautiful, so talented as Pippa Fane-- but we forget the unreality in the pleasure of romance, as Pippa falls for a gondalier, is befriended by a Marchesa, gets naively into difficulties with her lesbian ballet mistress, meets an archbishop and finds favor with Venetian audiences dancing at La Fenice. And no matter how crowded or hot we may have found Venice in the summer, everyone knows it is somehow a magical place. If this novel took itself seriously, it would be a disaster; but it recognizes that it is playing with romantic stereotypes in a world so fragile the lightest breath would blow it away. Sometimes, as in the portrayal of the ballet mistress, we seem to have stepped back into a 1940s movie; indeed, the novel reminds me of nothing so much as the old series of Noel Streatfield's children's books, especially "Ballet Shoes." Rumer Godden trained in ballet and ran a multi-racial ballet school in India for eight years. That she could have produced this little bit of gossamer when she was nearly ninety is remarkable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing!,
By Sharlene T (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pippa Passes (Paperback)
Young Pippa is in Venice with the Midlands City Ballet, as their youngest recruit. She meets a handsome young gondolier and through him, befriends a marchesa. She also catches the eye of ballet mistress Angaharad who unfortunately has more of a lecherous interest in our innocent 17-year-old. However, it is a mere blemish in the life of this rising star, who finds herself taking on a principal role in the ballet (Now I may not know much about the ballet world but going from the corps to soloist to a principal's part in just a fortnight seems a bit much to me!) and fronting the band of her darling gondolier, which catches the attention of an American businessman who wants them to sign a contract with him! Can anything better happen to Pippa? A marriage proposal from a prince would be the icing on the cake. Of course that would be taking this story just that little bit too far...! Eye rolls a plenty!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wouldn't It Be Lovely?,
This review is from: Pippa Passes (Paperback)
A curiously charming romance that is almost all wish-fulfillment fantasy. No one could be so lucky, so beautiful, so talented as Pippa Fane-- but we forget the unreality in the pleasure of romance, as Pippa falls for a gondalier, is befriended by a Marchesa, gets naively into difficulties with her lesbian ballet mistress, meets an archbishop and finds favor with Venetian audiences dancing at La Fenice. And no matter how crowded or hot we may have found Venice in the summer, everyone knows it is somehow a magical place. If this novel took itself seriously, it would be a disaster; but it recognizes that it is playing with romantic stereotypes in a world so fragile the lightest breath would blow it away. Sometimes, as in the portrayal of the ballet mistress, we seem to have stepped back into a 1940s movie; indeed, the novel reminds me of nothing so much as the old series of Noel Streatfield's children's books, especially "Ballet Shoes." Rumer Godden trained in ballet and ran a multi-racial ballet school in India for eight years. That she could have produced this little bit of gossamer when she was nearly ninety is remarkable.
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