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The Chosen Maiden
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Average Rating
Published:
Doubleday Canada 2017
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
The lush, sweeping story of a remarkable dancer who charts her own course through the tumultuous years of early twentieth-century Europe. Beautifully blending fiction with fact, The Chosen Maiden plunges readers into an artistic world upended by modernity, immersing them in the experiences of the era's giants, from Anna Pavlova and Serge Diaghilev to Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso.
From their earliest days, the Nijinsky siblings appear destined for the stage. Bronia is a gifted young ballerina, but she is quickly eclipsed by her brother Vaslav. Deemed a prodigy, Vaslav Nijinsky will grow into the greatest, and most provocative, dancer of his time. To prove herself her brother's equal in the rigid world of ballet, Bronia will need to be more than extraordinary, defying society's expectations of what a female dancer can and should be. 
     The real-life muse behind one of the most spectacular roles in dance, The Rite of Spring's Chosen Maiden, Bronia rises to the heights of modern ballet through grit, resilience and fervor. But when the First World War erupts and rebellion sparks in Russia, Bronia—caught between old and new, traditional and ground-breaking, safe and passionate—must begin her own search for what it means to be modern.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
01/17/2017
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780385678551
ASIN:
B0165I0TMY
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Eva Stachniak. (2017). The Chosen Maiden. Doubleday Canada.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Eva Stachniak. 2017. The Chosen Maiden. Doubleday Canada.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Eva Stachniak, The Chosen Maiden. Doubleday Canada, 2017.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Eva Stachniak. The Chosen Maiden. Doubleday Canada, 2017.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
23169eee-65e3-057e-9aac-14340a429c36
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 17:18:55
Date Updated:
Jun 12, 2018 17:18:55
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:42:55
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 08, 2024 17:18:54
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:42:58
Last Availability Change:
Mar 10, 2024 08:45:13
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 02:11:39

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      • value: Picasso
      • value: world war
      • value: Historical Fiction
      • value: modern art
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      • value: Second World War
      • value: Ballerina
      • value: Alternate History
      • value: Russian Revolution
      • value: first world war
      • value: Coco Chanel
      • value: Vaslav Nijinsky
      • value: stravinsky
      • value: Russian ballet
      • value: Anna Pavlova
      • value: ballet russes
      • value: bronislava nijinska
      • value: bronia nijinska
      • value: chaliapin
      • value: diaghilev
      • value: fokine
      • value: god of dance
      • value: imperial ballet
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      • value: the rite of spring
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creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Stachniak, Eva
      • bioText: Eva Stachniak is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author of five novelsincluding The Winter Palace and Empress of the Night. She holds a PhD in literature from McGill University. Born and raised in Poland, she moved to Canada in 1981, and lives in Toronto.
      • name: Eva Stachniak
publishDate
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title
The Chosen Maiden
fullDescription
The lush, sweeping story of a remarkable dancer who charts her own course through the tumultuous years of early twentieth-century Europe. Beautifully blending fiction with fact, The Chosen Maiden plunges readers into an artistic world upended by modernity, immersing them in the experiences of the era's giants, from Anna Pavlova and Serge Diaghilev to Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso.
From their earliest days, the Nijinsky siblings appear destined for the stage. Bronia is a gifted young ballerina, but she is quickly eclipsed by her brother Vaslav. Deemed a prodigy, Vaslav Nijinsky will grow into the greatest, and most provocative, dancer of his time. To prove herself her brother's equal in the rigid world of ballet, Bronia will need to be more than extraordinary, defying society's expectations of what a female dancer can and should be. 
     The real-life muse behind one of the most spectacular roles in dance, The Rite of Spring's Chosen Maiden, Bronia rises to the heights of modern ballet through grit, resilience and fervor. But when the First World War erupts and rebellion sparks in Russia, Bronia—caught between old and new, traditional and ground-breaking, safe and passionate—must begin her own search for what it means to be modern.
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Toronto Star
      • content: "A tale of intrigue, love, betrayal and redemption set in the realm of art and artists, exploring the line between dedication and obsession, creation and madness. . . . Stachniak weaves together beautifully the myriad moments that bring this fascinating family and period to life."
      • premium: False
      • source: Publishers Weekly, starred review
      • content: "[Stachniak] exquisitely blends fiction with fact in this novel about the remarkable ballet dancers Vaslav and Bronia Nijinsky. . . [and] brilliantly brings the story of Bronia, the lesser-known Nijinsky, to life. She has an excellent command of the period and the dance world and an ability to draw characters who will enrapture the reader."
      • premium: False
      • source: Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls
      • content: "Carefully researched and capaciously imagined. . . . More than just an absorbing historical account of an avant-garde artist, The Chosen Maiden is a fully-realized tale of family, love, loss and enduring resilience."
      • premium: False
      • source: Quill & Quire
      • content: "Many works of fiction take as their inspiration true events and persons of historical significance, but few do so as lovingly and imaginatively. . . . The Chosen Maiden delves into the workings of an artist's mind and reveals the resiliency of art in a time of worldwide political upheaval and war. . . . A remarkable work of historical fiction."
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        Starred review from May 15, 2017
        Stachniak (Empress of the Night) exquisitely blends fiction with fact in this novel about the remarkable ballet dancers Vaslav and Bronia Nijinsky. Her research began with Bronia’s early memoir, which recounts her life as a young dancer up until 1914, and then delved into diaries, choreographic notes, correspondence, photographs, and scrapbooks. This rich and imaginative tale of Bronia and Vaslav’s eventful lives intersects with a tumultuous period in the 20th century: a time of world wars, the Russian Revolution, and a revolution in the world of dance and art. Giants of the era, including Serge Diaghilev, Pablo Picasso, and Anna Pavlova, all appear. While Vaslav easily rises to fame with his unique and audacious style of dancing, his sister struggles to gain recognition as a dancer and choreographer. The book takes readers into the controversial 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, in which Vaslav casts Bronia as the Chosen Maiden who dances herself to death, and then follows them both into adversity. Stachniak brilliantly brings the story of Bronia, the lesser-known Nijinsky, to life. She has an excellent command of the period and the dance world, and an ability to draw characters who will enrapture the reader. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        Starred review from January 1, 2017
        One can rely on Stachniak (The Winter Palace, 2012) for engaging, well-researched fictional portraits of dynamic historical women. As her story of renowned Polish ballerina and choreographer Bronislava Nijinska unfolds against the politically troubled backdrop of late nineteenth- through mid-twentieth-century Europe, readers become both active participants in her continual pursuit of creative excellence in dance and captivated spectators. Born in Minsk to traveling professional dancers, Bronia's early life and rigorous training at Saint Petersburg's Imperial Ballet School are dominated by her older brother, Vaslav Nijinsky, depicted as an artistic genius whose daring performances motivate her and overshadow her talents. Around this time, ballet is moving from its formal, classical roots into more fluid forms of expression, and Vaslav and Bronia are part of this controversial transformation. As she emerges as an innovative artist in her own right, Bronia's working relationship with impresario Serge Diaghilevfounder of the Ballets Russes and her brother's probable loverfor whose company she dances and choreographs in Paris and elsewhere, is portrayed with skill. With striking depth of feeling, Stachniak brings us firsthand into the moments when Bronia embodies the onstage personas she creates. The novel also illustrates her family life, including marital discord, Vaslav's increasing mental instability, and the value of motherhood. A memorable literary rendering of a remarkable woman's life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

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shortDescription
The lush, sweeping story of a remarkable dancer who charts her own course through the tumultuous years of early twentieth-century Europe. Beautifully blending fiction with fact, The Chosen Maiden plunges readers into an artistic world upended by modernity, immersing them in the experiences of the era's giants, from Anna Pavlova and Serge Diaghilev to Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso.
From their earliest days, the Nijinsky siblings appear destined for the stage. Bronia is a gifted young ballerina, but she is quickly eclipsed by her brother Vaslav. Deemed a prodigy, Vaslav Nijinsky will grow into the greatest, and most provocative, dancer of his time. To prove herself her brother's equal in the rigid world of ballet, Bronia will need to be more than extraordinary, defying society's expectations of what a female dancer can and should be. 
     The real-life muse behind one of the most spectacular roles in dance, The Rite of Spring's...
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