Description
Book Synopsis From Chaucer to Fitzgerald, writers have used dancing as a vital, if subtle, element in plot and character development. The ballroom, an important element of society in real life, was a backdrop to grand passions or pivotal encounters--ideal ground for commentary on the social milieu.
This work presents 88 literary selections (from etiquette manuals, diaries, poems, plays, essays and novels) that together form a survey of social dance in England and America over a span of 500 years. They illustrate specific dances, social dance behavior or the intimate reactions of participants. One finds, for example, the ultimate downfalls of Flaubert''s Emma Bovary, Hardy''s Eustacia Vye, and Tolstoy''s Anna Karenina are all foretold in pivotal dance scenes. Fully indexed.
Trade Reviewfun and interesting...Thompson displays an impressive depth and breadth of knowledge about both literature and dance. It's must reading for serious students of dance history, and a valuable companion to lovers of literature--Green Man Review; ""the well-chosen excerpts present a splendidly comprehensive picture of each era...it is convenient as well as enlightening to have this verbal pageant of bygone morals and manners in a single, readable volume...selections illustrate specific dances, social dance behaviors or the intimate reactions of participants""--JASNA News; ""don't skip the preface. It's a well-written overview of the significance of social dance in England and America from 1400 to 1918 that prepares readers [to] better understand and appreciate the literary selections that follow...a valuable reference for readers interested in social history, dance history, and literature""--The Reviewers Consortium
