"His words coloured the air."

So reflected Ella, on hearing John's letter, and it is a quote apt for the entire book. So much of the communication between the two central characters is through the written word, and the written words is what takes centre stage in this book. It is exquisitely written, the language filled with a cadence delightful to read.

This book is a true indulgence, rich in both story and character. Ella, John and Charles are all complex characters, and much of the reading is spent trying to better understand them, and how they got to the place where their lives are brought together - in a mental institution.

The history of the era is faithfully captured, and there is a creeping sense of horror at the scientific acceptance of the concept of eugenics that was being explored at the time, an almost natural evolution of Charles Darwin's text that had been published the generation before.

I finished this book last night and stayed awake reflecting on it. This book is a treat and I hope to read more by the author soon.

Dreadfully boring with a terribe and unsatisfying ending

This was an excellent story, helped a great deal by the almost-too-good narration of the audiobook (heartfelt to a point of making you uncomfortable). It is a love story in the extraordinary setting of an asylum in the north of England, but it includes various themes of mental health and social exclusion, including the shocking revelation that Winston Churchill was a great believer in Eugenics and the sterilisation of the "feeble minded".

This piece of historical fiction is set in 1911 in what was called an asylum for the insane. During this time, the theory of eugenics became popularized, calling for the sterilization of the poor and insane. In the midst of this we meet Ella and John, finding each other at the weekly Friday night dance, the only time men and women mingled. Their story, as well as the story of one of the doctors, can be difficult, but is well written and hard to put down. Recommended.

Easily 4.5 stars, The Ballroom was a pleasant surprise at the library. After reading and really enjoying Wake, I was excited to see that Anna Hope has released a new novel.

The Ballroom is bittersweet and moving. While I found the first 60 pages or so a bit slow, it picked up suddenly and pulled me in fast. My favorite part of this novel aside from the general plot were the characters; I think Hope made some really interesting decisions which added depth and dynamic without being derivative or stereotypical. In the end, I found myself very attached to the protagonists, which was easily aided by Hope's clear command at creating atmosphere that makes you feel as though you are present within the time and place of the story. So much so, I was misty eyed when it ended.

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I really enjoyed The Ballroom, Anna Hope has crafted a beautifully written story with very interesting characters. I think the reason I'm not giving this a higher rating is that I saw asylum, ballroom, love story and I got way too excited and expected way too much. But, given my high expectations, I still think this was a really good novel.

I'm still collecting my thoughts, so I might write a better review later, but for now I'll say what I can. I really liked the characters in it, but to me John and Ella never really changed. I liked their relationship, and it was interesting to see them both cling to each other as pillars of hope and feelings of freedom and normality. The really interesting character, though, was Charles. While John and Ella are both patients at the asylum, and its their love story, Charles is a doctor, and looks after both of them. I started out feeling sympathy for him, he's running away from controlling parents to somewhere he feels he can make a difference. He genuinely cares about furthering how they look after the patients. Then as the novel goes on, and he gets lost in his studies, he becomes almost as mad as his patients and he transforms into a really despicable person. His character development was great to follow throughout the novel.

What really interested me about this was the history in it, and learning about what went on in these asylums. The reasons people were institutionalised were crazy, like, for some it was as little as being poor, grieving over the loss of a loved one, breaking a window. And then the debate over the sterilisation of some members of society, including those in asylums and also the lower classes, is one I don't know a huge amount about, so reading the extracts from real pamphlets and speeches was really interesting.

Ultimately, this wasn't what I was expecting. I went into this wanting something other than what I was given. What I got was great, though, it just wasn't what I wanted right now. I was left kind of unsatisfied by the ending, and it seemed to end really abruptly too. Like, I turned the page and it was the author's note and I wasn't expecting it. This was a good book, but just not what I wanted.

3.75/5 J'ai mis du temps à rentrer dans l'histoire, assez lent et contemplatif, l'autrice prends son temps. À partir de la deuxième moitié c'était bon, j'étais happée !

More of a 3.5, but I'd still recommend it!