Born in 1891 in St Petersburg, Lydia Lopokova lived a long and remarkable life. Her vivacious personality and the sheer force of her charm propelled her to the top of Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. Through a combination of luck, determination and talent, Lydia became a star in Paris, a vaudeville favourite in America, the toast of Britain and then married the world-renowned economist, and formerly homosexual, John Maynard Keynes. Lydia's story links ballet and the Bloomsbury group, war, revolution and the economic policies of the super-powers. She was an immensely captivating, eccentric and irreverent personality: a bolter, a true bohemian and, eventually, an utterly devoted wife.

About the Author

Judith Mackrell is a writer and dance critic for the Guardian. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.

Prizes

An accessible and engaging biography of a colourful, charismatic woman whose story has never been told May 2009 is the centenary of the hundredth anniversary of the Ballet Russes first performance and the Royal Ballet will be celebrating this in various ways The V&A are also planning a Diaghilev exhibition Full of surprising encounters: Lydia and Picasso, Lydia and Stravinsky, Lydia and Virginia Woolf and Lydia and Maynard Keynes' unconventional sex life! 'Mackrell's enthralling biography restores Lydia Lopokova to her rightful position centre-stage' Daily Mail 'BLOOMSBURY BALLERINA is a compelling account of the extraordinary life and times of an unforgettable woman. Mackrell is to be congratulated' Literary Review 'Mackrell shows us exactly what made Lopokova one the last century's "true originals"' Sunday Times 'Judith Mackrell is brilliant at making the reader see why Lopokova matters' Guardian 'How shrewd and kind of Mackrell to extricate Lopokova from so many decades as the snubbed alien in Bloomsbury footnotes' New Statesman 'Mackrell's unfailingly vivacious and scholarly biography pays splendid tribute' Sunday Telegraph

Reviews

"Judith Mackrell has used her resources to rescue the ballerina from an undeserved obscurity" CONTEMPORARY REVIEW 'In this lovingly crafted biography, Judith Mackrell restores to life a colourful bohemian character... a warm memorial to an almost-forgotten star' OBSERVER 'Mackrell captures the fizz of Lopokova's personality, her lovability, and makes her come alive.' -- Alison Light LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS 'a superb new biography...Mackrell, with her insider's knowledge of ballet and theatre, lovingly recreates Lydia's many worlds' GAY & LESBIAN REVIEW 'Thorough and absorbing' GOOD BOOK GUIDE