The Dancing Master
January 22nd, 2014. Filed under: This & That.The Dancing Master
By Julie Klassen
Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.
Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul—and hidden sorrows of her own.
Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master—a man her mother would never approve of—but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village . . . and to her mother’s tattered heart?
Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a “good match” in Regency England.
ISLAND BREEZES
A dancing master in a town where dancing is not allowed. I imagine that was a surprise to both Alec and the town.
Unfortunately, the loss of his father forced him and his mother to move to Devonshire to live with his uncle. There he meets the daughter of the town’s matriarch – the one who decreed no dancing.
The feelings of Alec and Julia are growing, but her mother doesn’t approve. The two of them have secrets which are keeping their relationship from growing even more.
In the mean time, there’s still no dancing allowed and looks as if they may not have a happy ending if Alec can’t find work of some sort.
Thank you, Ms Klassen. I enjoyed your book and learned a lot about dancing masters. I’m looking forward to your next book.
***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***
Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She is a three-time Christy Award winner and a 2010 Midwest Book Award winner for Genre Fiction. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.