Age: YA
If you've ever wished you were one of the beautiful dancers in Degas' paintings, this book will make you think again. It's the story of Marie van Goethem, the model for Degas' sculpture La petite danseuse de quatorze ans (Little dancer age fourteen). I'll start by warning you that it's an incredibly sad book. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you're in the mood for it...but if you need something cheery to read, try A Countess Below Stairs. This is based on a true story (really, as much of Marie's life as was recorded has been incorporated into this book) and history is often heartbreaking.
Marie is the middle child of three daughters living with their mother in Paris in the 1880s. They used to be a happy family, but after their father passed away their mother fell apart, and the only thing that keeps her going now is absinthe (which, as it turns out, is not as fun as it looks in Moulin Rouge, kids). All three girls are dancers at the Paris Opera, where they make barely enough money to survive, and certainly not enough to keep funding their mother's drinking. However, Marie loves dancing and would never dream of doing anything else. Like many of the older dancers, Marie's sister Antoinette brings in extra money through her affairs with wealthy patrons of the ballet. She urges Marie to do the same, but the thought disgusts Marie.
Things seem to be going better for Marie for a while--Monsieur Degas pays her to pose for a sculpture, and she meets Degas' friend Mary Cassatt, an American artist whom she very much admires. Better still, Mary Cassatt's carriage driver is a childhood friend of Marie's, and when the two are reunited they begin to fall in love. But then a wealthy young patron seeks to make Marie his mistress, and this drives a rift between Marie and her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Antoinette's greed results in tragedy for the entire family. Marie is forced to choose between love and happiness for herself, and doing what's best for her family...especially her sweet little sister Charlotte, who is a talented dancer.
This is really what life was like for young ballerinas. As if the incredible toll on their bodies from long days of dancing wasn't enough, they were basically prostitutes. In Degas' painting L'Etoile (The Star) you can see a man waiting just backstage for the dancer. (Google the painting if you're not familiar with it.)
When the sculpture was first exhibited, the response was mostly unfavorable. Viewers thought it was ugly. In the book, when Marie hears their response, she is hurt. But the truth is, most of her life is ugly. The story of the lives of Degas' dancers reveals a startling juxtaposition between the beauty of the dance (and the paintings) and the harshness of their off-stage lives. No wonder Degas found them so fascinating.
Recommended for readers who like: The Royal Diaries (Carolyn Meyer wrote Isabel and Anastasia); Meyer's Young Royals series; Dear America; Moulin Rouge; Les Miserables
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