Books to Read Again: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

My Granny gave me Ballet Shoes for Christmas in 1968. I was just 9 and probably read it at once. The introduction, by editor Kay Webb, says the book is “warmly recommended for girls between eight or nine and fourteen” but I think it’s a comforting read at any time.

Pauline as the fairy godmother in Cinderella.
Cover design by Victor Ambrus. Does anyone else remember him from early seasons of Time Team?

This is a wonderful book for girls* who enjoy dancing or acting. Which I didn’t. At 6 I said “no thank you” to dancing lessons, and at 11 I was given the choice of the school drama club or Guides. I joined the Guides, which I hated, but at least it was better than acting. So considering all that you might suppose this was quite the wrong book for me.

Children at the Academy. Line drawings by Ruth Gervis who was the author’s older sister 

But you would be wrong. It’s the characters I loved. It didn’t bother me that Pauline loved acting, or that Posy was only interested in dancing. That’s their choice. I liked Petrova who couldn’t bring herself to tell her guardian Sylvia that she didn’t enjoy acting and dancing. She was interested in cars and aeroplanes but the family was poor (yes poor, but still employing Sylvia’s old nanny Nana, and Cook and Clara the housemaid) and the only way Petrova could help out was to earn money in the theatre.

Petrova reading about cars or planes

Pauline, Petrova and Posy, all adopted by Professor Matthew Brown, a famous collector of fossils, choose Fossil as their surname and vow to try and put their name in the history books. They grow up in a large house on the Cromwell Road not too far from the Victoria and Albert Museum in west London. Professor Brown (Great Uncle Matthew, always known as Gum) goes travelling “to visit some strange islands” when Posy is only a baby, leaving the children in the care of his great niece Sylvia. By Chapter II (of XIX) the family is running out of money. Gum has left instructions with his bank to provide suitable funds for 5 years, but he is gone for far longer than anyone expected and soon Sylvia has no income at all and three growing children to feed, clothe and educate. Obviously these are middle class children who must be educated privately which Sylvia cannot afford.

Seaside holiday. My mother wore a swimsuit just like this in the 1930s

In order to make a little money Sylvia feels she has no choice but to take in boarders. Luckily the new boarders are all very nice: Mr and Mrs Simpson run a garage (obviously ideal for Petrova), Dr Smith and Dr Jakes are expert tutors in English and Maths (useful for all the girls), and Theo Dane teaches dance at the Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training (ideal for Pauline and Posy). After seeing Posy dance, Theo arranges for all three girls to be trained, free of charge, at the Academy.

Pauline and school friend Winifred auditioning for Alice in Wonderland 

From a modern viewpoint we might ask why on earth does Sylvia carry on employing Cook and Clara? I don’t think Nana counts: she’s more a member of the family and worth her weight in gold because she makes all the children’s clothes, quite often at the drop of a hat. And again, why can’t Sylvia look for a job instead of waiting for the children to reach the age of 12? (Children under 12 were not permitted to work.) Of course Sylvia was brought up a lady and therefore has no useful skills; it’s likely she couldn’t boil an egg let alone cook dinner for a family of growing girls. At any rate, Sylvia getting a job is never considered. And, poor thing, she is never allowed a relationship with a suitable man which might have solved some of her problems.

Posy, Nana, Pauline and Petrova waiting for a tube train 

Ballet Shoes was Noel Streatfield’s first book for children, published in1936. The death of George V in January 1936 impacts the income of both Pauline and Petrova when theatrical performances are cancelled due to public mourning. This roots the story very firmly in the1930s, as does the tiny salaries they receive. Noel Streatfield was an actress before she started writing so she must have known how little children on the stage would be paid. Of course this dates the book, but somehow more recent books like the Gemma series written in the late 1960s seem much more dated. Perhaps references to television, electric guitars and comprehensive schools don’t date so well as cooks and housemaids and organdie frocks with frills?

Posy tells Pauline she must go to Czechoslovakia to study with Manoff

By the end of the book Pauline is 15, has had a success in a film about Charles II, and is asked to go to Hollywood, and Posy is consumed by her desire to study ballet with the famous dancer Manoff in Czechoslovakia. The big house has been sold, the boarders are moving on and poor Petrova seems to have no future. At the last minute Gum turns up and suggests he and Petrova live together in a house by an aerodrome. Yes, this is all a bit convenient but somehow it doesn’t matter. It’s a satisfying ending to an absorbing story of three very real girls who get grumpy and bored and anxious just like the rest of us. You may not know what an organdie dress looks like or have a nanny to make you one for your next audition, but you can absolutely understand their excitement at an extra special birthday cake or an unexpected treat, or better yet, a part in a play that pays well.

The Fossil girls make their vow

Noel Streatfield wrote 30 books for children. Most of them are not connected (the four Gemma books are an exception) but many of them have been renamed to create the semblance of a series with the wonderful White Boots (about skating) rebranded as Skating Shoes and Apple Bough (about a child’s need for a proper home) as Traveling Shoes. I’m not sure I approve.

*Let’s be honest: this book is really not aimed at boys.