FAQ FAQ

Dance
Frequently Asked Questions


This page is a repository of frequently asked questions about Anthony Powell, his life and his works.
Thanks to all my various correspondents for these items and questions; you are none of you named as many of the contributions were contained in private E-mail.
Further items will be placed here, as available, if the information is not available elsewhere on this site.
I will be delighted to receive items for possible inclusion by E-mail. If in any doubt, I shall continue to post contributions anonymously.

Contents
  1. What are the publication dates of the volumes of Dance? And when were the reviews of them published in TLS?
  2. What are the commonly accepted abbreviations for the books of Dance?
  3. Where can I get video tapes of the Channel 4 films of Dance?
  4. Do you know when the UK Channel 4 films of Dance will be shown in the USA?
  5. I believe there is a CD of the music from the Channel 4 adaptation of Dance. Do you have any details of it?
  6. Do you know what locations were used for the filming of the Channel 4 adaptation of Dance?
  7. Some years ago BBC Radio 4 did a serialisation of Dance. Do you have any information about the series? And do you know what music was used as the theme?
  8. Nick Jenkins, narrator in Dance writes a book about Robert Burton, author of The Anatomy of Melancholy. Are there any web sites about Burton?

What are the publication dates of the volumes of Dance? And when were the reviews of them published in TLS?

Volume Publication Date TLS Review Date
A Question of Upbringing 22 January 1951 16 February 1951
A Buyer's Market 23 June 1952 27 June 1952
The Acceptance World 09 May 1955 13 May 1955
At Lady Molly's 28 October 1957 01 November 1957
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant 20 June 1960 24 June 1960
The Kindly Ones 25 June 1962 29 January 1962
The Valley of Bones 02 March 1964 15 March 1964
The Soldier's Art 12 September 1966 15 September 1966
The Military Philosophers 14 October 1968 17 October 1968
Books Do Furnish a Room 15 February 1971 19 February 1971
Temporary Kings 18 June 1973 22 June 1973
Hearing Secret Harmonies 08 September 1975 12 September 1975

I am indebted to David Christie for researching the TLS review dates.

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What are the commonly accepted abbreviations for the books of Dance?
First of all, let's agree that the 12 volume sequence A Dance to the Music of Time is always known in short as Dance, this being the short form always used by Powell himself.
The titles of the individual volumes themselves are then abbreviated with the initial letters of their titles, hence:
QU
A Question of Upbringing
BM
A Buyer's Market
AW
The Acceptance World
LM
At Lady Molly's
CCR
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant
KO
The Kindly Ones
VB
The Valley of Bones
SA
The Soldier's Art
MP
The Military Philosophers
BDFR
Books Do Furnish a Room
TK
Temporary Kings
HSH
Hearing Secret Harmonies
These abbreviations are those used by Hilary Spurling in her Handbook to "Dance to the Music of Time". Given Spurling's friendship with AP, it seems reasonable to assume that these abbreviations are, at the very least, not objected to by Powell.

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Where can I get video tapes of the Channel 4 films of Dance?
See the Bookshop page for where to buy books, videos and DVDs.

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Do you know when the UK Channel 4 films of Dance will be shown in the USA?
Unfortunately I do not know. Although I have asked both Channel 4 TV and AP's agents, neither has been able (or willing) to tell me. If I do find out I will post an item on the AP News page. And if any reader finds out about this I would very much like an E-mail.

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I believe there is a CD of the music from the Channel 4 adaptation of Dance. Do you have any details of it?
Yes, there was a CD of soundtrack music from Channel 4's Dance adaptation. I am indebted to Peter Bolger, and others, for the following comprehensive listing of the CD:

A Dance to the Music of Time (Five Decades of Decadence)
[Channel 4/MCI MPRCD-002]
Original Soundtrack Composed and Conducted by Carl Davis

Episode One - The Twenties
1. 20th Century Blues (vocal: Noel Coward)
2. Masculine Women and Feminine Men
3. Oxford
4. My Heart Stood Still
5. Blue Room
6. Mountain Greenery
7. Jean
8. It Had to be You
9. The Affair Begins
10. End Titles

Episode Two - The Thirties
11. My Heart Stood Still (30s style)
12. Ghosts
13. Moreland's Piano Concerto
14. Anything Goes

Episode Three - The War Years
15. It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow (vocal: Vera Lynn)
16. Kiss me Goodnight, Sergeant Major (vocal: Arthur Askey)
17. Whitehall
18. Thanks, Mr Roosevelt
19. Waltz of My Heart
20. Someday I'll Find You

Episode Four - The Fifties and Sixties
21. Death of a Novelist
22. Abduction from Seraglio
23. Honours
24. The Death of Widmerpool

The CD booklet has brief notes on each TV episode and a short biography of AP & Carl Davis. I'm reliably informed that the CD is now deleted. I have however seen it occasionally in various remainder bins.

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Do you know what locations were used for the filming of the Channel 4 adaptation of Dance?
I've not been able to find out very much, but here is what I have found ...
  • The public school scenes were actually filmed at Eton. Apparently they allowed this only because AP is an Old Etonian.
  • The post-war thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral was actually filmed in St Paul's.
  • The Ritz was one of the few places which declined to allow scenes to be filmed there. Apparently the Ritz scenes were filmed at Luton Hoo, as it seems were a number of the scenes in various embassies, etc.
    (Luton Hoo, which unusually for England is at Luton!, was built in 1768 by Robert Adam and the grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.)
  • Knebworth House in Hertfordshire was used as the location for Thrubworth.
    (Knebworth was started in 1492 by Sir Robert Lytton, but extensively rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century.)
  • Wyfold Abbey, near Henley was used as the location for the House of Commons dining room and also for the hippie commune scenes.
    (Julie Gerrard has suggested in a private e-mail that Wyfold Abbey is actually Wyfold Court, built 1872-6 by G Somers Clarke for the cotton master Edwards Hermon. This is described by Mark Girouard in his The Victorian Country House (1979) as: An ostentatious and accomplished essay in French Flamboyant Gothic.)
  • Another e-mail correspondent (whose name I regret I have mislaid) tells me that the Stourwater scenes were filmed at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.
    (Berkeley was built in 12th century, rebuilt in 14th and parts again rebuilt in 17th century. It's main claim to fame is as the place where Edward II was murdered in gory detail!)
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Some years ago BBC Radio 4 did a serialisation of Dance. Do you have any information about the series? And do you know what music was used as the theme?
Thanks to a number of my correspondents, and especially John Gould who sent me a copy of some BBC archive material, I have some information on this series. Each of the 3 volume sequences were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as a set of one-hour episodes over the period 1979 to 1982: QU, BM, AW: 6 episodes during July & August 1979
LM, CCR, KO: 6 episodes during July & August 1980
VB, SA, MP: 6 episodes during June & July 1981
BDFR, TK, HSH: 8 episodes during July to September 1982 The dramatisation was by Frederick Bradnum, the music by Antony Miall, and production by Graham Gould. John Gould even sent me the complete cast listings, which are reproduced on the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Dance page. Unfortunately I can tell you nothing more about the music.

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Nick Jenkins, narrator in Dance writes a book about Robert Burton, author of The Anatomy of Melancholy. Are there any web sites about Burton?
Yes there are many. Try doing a search on Google and you will find qute a few hits.

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Last updated: 11 March 2005, Keith Marshall