A CANDLE FOR ST. JUDE

Not yet a securely wide market- but a discerning one, will welcome this 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. Though never yielding the center of the stage, held inexorably by Madame, through clash of temperaments, swift changes of loyalties, cross sectioning Madame and her pupils, her employees, her graduate students, one gets brief and vivid glimpses of the personalities; Miss Ilse, her devoted companion, seeking to make Madame realize that she is no longer young; Mr. Felix, orchestra leader; Lion and Caroline, pledged to wider fields but returning for the fiftieth anniversary performance; the students, from little Lollie, terrified of her first audition, to Hilda, a young Madame recreated, and for that reason disliked, suspected, feared, while her genius wins reluctant recognition. There is romance here- a revealing picture behind the scenes in that closed, charmed circle which balletomanes adore. But even for others, this is a story to charm and delight you by one of the great stylists of today. A new imprint brings new focus on a writer meriting a widening market.