ST201903

THE SADLER’S WELLS

SERIES BY LORNA HILL

Read by Frances Ambler (contributing editor)

aged nine

I was blessed with two left feet but despite

that (or perhaps because of it) my staple

childhood reading diet was mainly ballet.

Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes, of course, but

also Lorna Hill’s Sadler’s Wells series: 14

books, originally published between 1950

and 1964. Each book focused on a young

dancer and their time at the Sadler’s Wells

ballet school, or their fight to get there, and

their subsequent careers.

The language her female leads talked in

meant little to me – plié, relevé and Les

Sylphides – but I definitely understood their

passion and their determination to succeed.

I fear that if I picked one up now I’d find

the books cloying and melodramatic – there

are orphaned children, stuck-up relatives,

tragic deaths and, of course, ballet

mean girls – but how I used to feel their

stories, sobbing over the fate of Sylvia Swan

and swooning over Sebastian.

Ballet stories aren’t the grittiest subject

matter but Hill made me understand the

sacrifices necessary to become a dancer.

Looking back, there were other bits I only

appreciate as an adult. Hill was based in

Northumberland and so are many of her

characters, and that push/pull between

London and ‘home’ now seems very

familiar. Also, given that she was writin

for young girls in the 1950s, it’s notable

how many of her heroines dedicatedly

pursue their careers instead of

housewifery. I may never dance a waltz

barefoot outside a cottage window, à la

Veronica, or enjoy Caroline’s fate of

meeting a charismatic Spaniard who

can induct me into the ways of the

castanets but, like all the best

children’s books, the Sadler Well’s

series gave me a sense of the

possibilities that lay outside of my

small bubble of home.

THE ADVENTURES OF

TINTIN BY HERGÉ

ead by Anneliese Klos (art editor) aged ten

guess I always preferred pictures over

ords and Tintin, created by Belgian

rtoonist Hergé (real name Georges

mi) was beautifully drawn in Hergé’s

an, expressive signature ‘ligne claire’

ar line) style, each cover illustration

nderfully graphic, and as captivating

today as they were when I was little.

Tintin, the courageous hero, is a young

Belgian reporter who travels the world

seeking adventure and solving crimes,

aided by his faithful dog Snowy. Each

comic book is a gripping story, littered

with silliness and slapstick humour, set

in exotic, often fictional locations.

Choosing a favourite is impossible;

I think my ‘favourite’ changed as I grew

older and reread them. Thinking about

them inspired me to buy a few memorable

ones to read with my son (my little brother

stole my original copies!). Intrigued by

oriental history, he chose The Blue Lotus,

where Tintin is invited to China in the

midst of the 1931 Japanese invasion.

I decided upon The Crab and the Golden

Claw, which sees Tintin travel to Morocco

to pursue a gang of international opium

smugglers. Grown-up stuff for a ten year

old. This story is important as it’s when our

hero first meets his future side-kick

Captain Haddock, a brash, clumsy

merchant marine sea captain with a

fondness for whisky and colourful

expletives when things don’t go his way.

He was a loveable addition to the series and

I now often feel inspired to copy him when

I’m having difficult moments myself...

like having to write about something

rather than illustrate it... billions of bilious

blue blistering barnacles!

“The series gave me

a sense of the

possibilities that lay

outside of my small

bubble of home”

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ILLUSTRATIONS: SHUTTERSTOCK

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