Dancer Upstairs

Nicholas Shakespeare was born in 1957. The son of a diplomat, much of his youth was spent in Asia and South America. One of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 1993, and considered by the Wall Street Journal as 'one of the best English novelists of our time', his prize-winning books have been translated into twenty-two languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Snowleg, The Dancer Upstairs, Inheritance, Priscilla, Six Minutes in May and acclaimed biographies of Bruce Chatwin and Ian Fleming. His most recent thriller featuring John Dyer was The Sandpit. He has been longlisted for the Booker Prize twice, was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

"Shakespeare is interested in grand themes: love, vocation, politics and the corrupting power of moral and ideological absolutes... The Dancer Upstairs will be enjoyed by any kind of reader... It is enviably good, a genuinely fine novel from a writer who possesses real heart and flair" -- Louis de Bernieres Sunday Times "Almost steams with the author's understanding of South America and yet is somehow poetic and tender" Observer "Will count among the best work being produced by the present generation of British writers" Independent on Sunday "As cracking a story as any yarn, as informed as any journalism, and delivered with firmness and urgency" The Times "In addition to being a satisfyingly rich tale or romance this is a highly intelligent examination of Peruvian - and South American - reality... Funny and devastating... I was riveted by this superb novel" New Statesman