Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780752834214
Edition: New Ed
ISBN: 0752834215
Label: Orion
Manufacturer: Orion
Number Of Pages: 475
Publication Date: July 06, 2000
Publisher: Orion
Studio: Orion
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Editorial Review:Amazon.co.uk Review:In
Dance With Me Victoria Clayton combines the best traditions of a 19th-century romantic novel with smatterings of gothic horror, successfully updating the action to the long hot summer of 1976. The plot unfolds around the sweetly naive Viola Otway, of dubious parentage, with little formal education and a startling ineptitude in the kitchen. Sent to investigate the potential for rescuing Inskip Park, a crumbling country mansion of little architectural significance but some beauty, she discovers the house somewhat beyond immediate salvation but the resident Inskip family more promising.
As Viola's involvement with the family intensifies she unwittingly causes enough disasters and meets enough unusual people to give full rein to Victoria Clayton's talent for humour. From an unusually ugly peer of the real m who "considers eating lettuce to be the moral equivalent of buggery" to an elderly lady in danger of falling pray to a con-man, each character is cleverly developed and highly amusing. Numerous subplots incorporate the tragic consequences of post-natal depression, dalliances with some unattractive locals, closet homosexuality, loyalty, betrayal and of course love, producing a substantial novel that is a rapid read. The culminating amateur theatrical event and ball are irreverently reminiscent of Jane Austen's
Mansfield Park but, as is the rest of the book, much more fun. --
Louise Ellison
Average Rating:
Rating:
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"Dance with me "is a charming and extremely funny book.It is one of my favourite books.I laughed to the point of hysteria on several occasions at these beautiful people with their eccentric behaviour.The characters are beautiful drawn, and I feel that they are my dear friends.Viola is so beautiful that she takes my breath away.So much like my own family..that is probably why I am so drawn to these lovely characters.Congratulations Victoria Clayton, you have a fan for life
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This lovely work had me entertained from start to finish.I laughed out loud so many times that I was on the brink of hysteria, trying to control myself in public.What a wonderful bunch of characters Ms Clayton has given to us,as with all of her books .I can hardly wait for her next one.I have given copies of Dance With Me to my friends and family as gifts and each of them have loved it as I have done.Bless Viola and her naivetee.
Rating:
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A fantastic book.
Once you work out which decade this book is set in, this book becomes a fabulous read. The characters are so well written, the plot is lively and interesting, and the whole thing was a joy to read from start to finish.
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I
was a bit unsure of it to begin with as I couldn't make out what decade it was supposed to be set in. But after a bit it didn't worry me as I was highly amused at the conversations and the situations that Viola found herself in. I took it with me on holiday and laughed so much on the plane on the way home that the woman next to me took a note of the title and author of the book. I usually tend to skim read but I didn't with this one because I didn't want to miss anything.
Rating:
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As someone said about one of my books if you want a serious read don't try this one, but if you want to be entertained... The style of this book is strangely compelling, I'm the most impatiant reader in the world and frequently don't finish books, yet I never found myself wanting to skip passages with this story or sneaking a quick look at the last page to see if it was worth finishing! I love Viola with her mixture of unworldliness and intense seriousness and the way she just seems to plunge herself ...
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