The Ballroom

From the internationally acclaimed author of Wake comes a haunting story of love, insanity, and revolution set at the brink of the Great War. Yorkshire, England, 1911: After a moment of defiance at the factory where she has worked since she was a child, Ella Fay finds herself an unwilling patient at the Sharston Asylum. Ella knows she is not mad, but she might have to learn to play the game before she can make a true bid for freedom. John Mulligan is a chronic patient, frozen with grief since the death of his child, but when Ella runs towards him one morning in an attempt to escape the place where he has found refuge, everything changes. It is in the ornate ballroom at the centre of the asylum, where the male and female patients are allowed to gather every Friday evening to dance, that Ella and John begin a tentative, secret correspondence that will have shattering consequences, as love and the possibility of redemption are set against one ambitious doctor's eagerness to make his mark in the burgeoning field of eugenics, at all costs. Set over the heatwave summer of 1911, at a time when England was at the point of revolt, The Ballroom is a tale of unlikely love and dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which.

As Tatara and Chinatsu dance for the future of their partnership, they catch the attention of top competitor Masami Kugimiya. Watching them clash, memories of Kugimiya’s own journey from wide-eyed beginner to top-ranked talent force him to confront the sacrifices he’s made and the passion he’s lost in his fight to be the best. Now, everything comes down to the final round of the tournament, and both teams must rely on the styles that have brought them this far–whatever the consequences.

The Ballroom is a brutally frank memoir of what has become known as one of the most pivotal, fascinating and influential periods of Australian musical and cultural history. The story is illustrated with original flyers and candid photos, some never before seen or published.

From the bestselling author of The Tavern on Maple Street, comes a novel of romance and regret—and the winding paths to love. Johnny Hogan was born and bred on Hollywood movies. He loved the ice-cool matinee idols, the swooning dames, and the possibility that it could all come true. That’s why he opened the ballroom on Magnolia Street. To bring that weekend fantasy to life—for himself, for devoted romantics like his dear grandparents, for the sake of Johnny’s never-forgotten, long-lost lover, and for women like Kate and Shirley Winters, two sisters both looking for fulfill their own passionate fantasies. For everyone in town who still believes in impossible dreams. Come Saturday night, the ballroom on Magnolia Street could be just the place for it all to come true amid the twinkling lights and soft music—a special crossroads for friendships, for family, for people in love.

The dramatic and deadly conclusion to the thrilling YA mystery series inspired by the classic board game CLUE—now in paperback! After a tragic accident at Blackbrook Academy kills one of their own, Orchid, Scarlett, Peacock, Mustard, and Plum are desperate to put the pieces back together and finish out the year. The Murder Crew may have earned their nickname, but the last of their secrets are still coming to light and threatening to destroy friendships, futures, and more. And when another suspicious death rocks the campus and Blackbrook's dark past crashes into its present, they have a choice: Band together or turn on each other. Because this year's prom? It's to die for.

Told in interconnecting stories, Ballroom is a beautifully crafted debut novel—reminiscent of the works of Elizabeth Strout and Jennifer Haigh—about a group of strangers united by a desire to escape their complicated lives, if only for a few hours each week, in a faded New York City dance hall. Time has eroded the glamour of the Ballroom, but at the end of the 1990s, a small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way past the floor-to-ceiling columns which frame the once grand hall each Sunday evening. Sweeping across the worn parquet floor under a peeling indigo ceiling, these men and women succumb to the magic of the music, looking for love and connection, eager to erase the drab reality of their complicated lives. Nearly forty and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she’ll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz, a dazzling peacock who dances to distract himself from his crumbling marriage. Tired of the bachelor life, Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled—if only he can get Sarah to notice him. Besotted with beautiful young Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn knows they can find happiness together. Maria, one of the Ballroom’s stars, has a dream of her own, a passion her broken-hearted father refuses to accept or understand. As the rhythms of the Ballroom ebb and flow through these characters’ hearts, their fates come together in touching, unexpected ways.

The unputdownable historical novel by the acclaimed and bestselling author of WAKE and EXPECTATION: a devastating story of love and madness at the brink of the Great War. 'Absolutely heart-breaking. One of the best books I’ve ever read' DINAH JEFFERIES, author of The Tea-Planter's Wife 'Compelling, elegant, insightful' OBSERVER 1911: Inside an asylum at the edge of the Yorkshire moors, where men and women are kept apart by high walls and barred windows, there is a ballroom vast and beautiful. For one bright evening every week they come together and dance. When John and Ella meet it is a dance that will change two lives forever. Set over the heatwave summer of 1911, the end of the Edwardian era, THE BALLROOM tells a rivetting tale of dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which. It is a love story like no other. ***************************************** Praise for Anna Hope's The Ballroom: 'Beautifully wrought, tender, heartbreaking' Sunday Express 5/5 'Moving, fascinating' Times 'A tender and absorbing love story' Daily Mail 'Unsentimental and affecting' Sunday Times 'Exquisitely good' Metro 'Absolutely fantastic . . . I'm in real awe of her writing' ELIZABETH MACNEAL, author of The Doll Factory ______________

"Ballroom Blitz" by Veronica Schanoes is a contemporary fairy tale about a young man, who with his eleven brothers, have been cursed to remain in a rock club for their bad behavior. Their only shot at freedom might be the twelve sisters who one day enter the club. "I really like what the author has done with the fairytale material, inverting the storyline to focus on the brothers, not the sisters."--Locus At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.