Pavlova's Gift

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

To the lonely, aging Anna Pavlova comes a royal messenger with a
startling request. Czar Nicholas begs Pavlova to come to the palace that
very evening and dance for his gravely ill son to raise his spirits.
Pavlova puts aside her fear of performing and hastens to her sleigh. En
route, she meets a gypsy band and is moved by the dancing of a young
woman in the forest. Her plans take a strange twist.

Pavlova, the greatest ballerina of Russia, was real, but her adventures
this wintry night are imaginary. Pavlova’s Gift is a delightful blend
of history and fantasy, a moving tale of generosity and hope.

Victoria Berdichevsky’s romantic and imaginative paintings perfectly
reflect the story’s bittersweet mood and the dancers’ dreams. The
author’s afterword deepens the pathos, but young readers will remember
a mythic adventure full of challenge and courage. Highly recommended.