A Company of Swans » (Reprint)

Eva Ibbotson lives in England.

For nineteen-year-old Harriet Morton, life in 1912 Cambridge is as dry and dull as a biscuit. Her stuffy father and her opressive aunt Louisa allow her only one outlet: ballet. When a Russian ballet master comes to class searching for dancers to fill the corps of his ballet company before their South American tour, Harriet's world changes. Defying her father's wishes and narrowly escaping the clutches of the man who wishes to marry her, Harriet sneaks off to join the ballet on their journey to the Amazon. There, in the wild, lush jungle, they perform Swan Lake in grand opera houses for the wealthy and culture-deprived rubber barons, and Harriet meets Rom Verney, the handsome and mysterious British exile who owns the most ornate opera house. Utterly enchanted by both the exotic surroundings and by Rom's affections, Harriet is swept away by her new life, completely unaware that her father and would-be finacé have begun to track her down. . . .

Children's Literature

Harriet Morton is a sweet-hearted and intelligent young girl with the misfortune to grow up under the oppressive ideologies of her father and aunt in the early years of the 20thcentury. With antiquated ideas of gender roles, Professor Morton forbids his daughter from continuing her education, thus stifling her spirit. All this changes when a small red-headed young boy asks some innocent questions about her life. Following her intuition and a string of unlikely coincidences, Harriet chances to change her life. She leaves her safe and restrictive home in Cambridge, England, and takes haven with Dubrov's Russian Ballet Company performing in the Amazon. In a bizarre twist of fate, she meets the red-headed boy's uncle, Rom Verney, and falls hopelessly in love with this British ex-patriot. Her journey, both emotional and physical, teaches Harriet how to be independent and allows her the space to gain real self-confidence and to forge her own destiny. Written with wit and an intelligent humor, the author recreates the time period in a way that feels authentic. The constant allusions to literary greats will make readers feel a connection to classic literature, and the novel expects readers to have a bit of background knowledge about the time period. Teens looking for historical and romantic fiction will not find a better tale of intrigue and female strength. Reviewer: Ginny Sautner