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A CANDLE FOR ST. JUDE by Rumer Godden Kirkus Star

A CANDLE FOR ST. JUDE

By

Pub Date: Aug. 6th, 1948
Publisher: Viking

A tumultuous, gay, joyous, temperamental, stormy, violent story of 24 hours in Madame Holbein's school of the ballet in London, a story that reveals unexpected dramatic qualities in the versatile and gifted Rumer Godden. There's Madame, never yielding the center of the stage; there are swift changes of loyalties, clash of temperament; there's cross sectioning of Madame's pupile, her employees, her graduate students in brief and vivid glimpses of personalities:- Madame's devoted slave and companion, Miss Ilse, seeking to make her realize she is no longer young; Mr. Felix, orchestra leader; Lion and Caroline, pledged to wider fields, but returning for the 50th Anniversary performance; the students, from little Lollie, terrified of her first audition, disappointed when asked to do so little, to Hilda, a young Madame recreated -- and for that very reason disliked, suspected, feared, while yet her genius wins reluctant admiration. There is romance here, a revealing picture behind the scenes in that closed, charmed circle which Balletomaniacs adore. But whether or not, the ballet is your meat, here is a story to charm and delight you. Utterly unlike anything else Rumer Godden has written, this is another facet of a versatile and brilliant writer, one of the great stylists of today. A new imprint brings new focus on a writer meriting a widening market. Her present admirers, while not yet securely numerous, are a discerning group. I loved this!