I thought at first that this was going to be a truly marvellous book, and in many ways it is, but I soon found that, in common with most modern biographies, it is too long, too detailed and there is too much talk about sex. It is hard to believe that non-professionals want quite so much description of ballets and ballet personalities long departed. Richard Buckle once shouted at Margot Fonteyn at the end of a long party, ‘Are you trying to tell me that ballet is a totally ephemeral art?’ ‘Yes, I am,’ replied Margot firmly.
That said, this is a gripping story, and there is not much that one can add to it. Meredith Daneman has left no stone unturned, even those Margot might have preferred to have remained undisturbed. The second half of the book is the most thrilling.
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