Margot Fonteyn

A Life

Look inside
Paperback
$24.00 US
5.54"W x 8.41"H x 1.57"D  
On sale Oct 04, 2005 | 704 Pages | 9780140165302
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB

Margot Fonteyn began life on the 18th of May, 1919 in Reigate, Surrey, as plain Peggy Hookham. She ended it on the 21st of February, 1991, as Prima Ballerina Assoluta, Dame of the British Empire and the most legendary dancer since Pavlova. Meredith Daneman, with her own extensive background in ballet, tells Fonteyn’s story in vivid prose with insight and sensitivity.

Drawing upon extensive research, countless interviews, and exclusive access to never-before-seen letters and diaries—including those of Fonteyn’s extraordinary and devoted mother—Daneman presents firsthand remembrances of Fonteyn from a vast array of people who knew her and danced with her during the course of her lengthy career. Margot Fonteyn contains revelations not found in any other account of the ballerina, from insights into Fonteyn’s private world (especially regarding her relationship with her mother, the “Black Queen”) to her feelings about her fellow dancers and, of course, the men in her life—including choreographer Frederick Ashton, her husband Roberto Arias, and her long-time dance partner and rumored lover Nureyev.
Meredith Daneman, a graduate of London’s Royal Ballet School and former member of the Australian Ballet Company, is the author of four novels: The Favourite, A Chance To Sit DownFrancie and the Boys, and The Groundling, as well as the biography Margot Fonteyn: A Life. View titles by Meredith Daneman

About

Margot Fonteyn began life on the 18th of May, 1919 in Reigate, Surrey, as plain Peggy Hookham. She ended it on the 21st of February, 1991, as Prima Ballerina Assoluta, Dame of the British Empire and the most legendary dancer since Pavlova. Meredith Daneman, with her own extensive background in ballet, tells Fonteyn’s story in vivid prose with insight and sensitivity.

Drawing upon extensive research, countless interviews, and exclusive access to never-before-seen letters and diaries—including those of Fonteyn’s extraordinary and devoted mother—Daneman presents firsthand remembrances of Fonteyn from a vast array of people who knew her and danced with her during the course of her lengthy career. Margot Fonteyn contains revelations not found in any other account of the ballerina, from insights into Fonteyn’s private world (especially regarding her relationship with her mother, the “Black Queen”) to her feelings about her fellow dancers and, of course, the men in her life—including choreographer Frederick Ashton, her husband Roberto Arias, and her long-time dance partner and rumored lover Nureyev.

Author

Meredith Daneman, a graduate of London’s Royal Ballet School and former member of the Australian Ballet Company, is the author of four novels: The Favourite, A Chance To Sit DownFrancie and the Boys, and The Groundling, as well as the biography Margot Fonteyn: A Life. View titles by Meredith Daneman

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more