Dorothy Speare

Dancers in the Dark Dorothy Speare

Dancers in the Dark by Dorothy Speare in 1922, while she was a student at Radcliffe. Dorothy Speare uses a lot of familiar tropes from late 19th and early 20th century literature, and many lovely turns of a phrase or enchanting bits of flapperish slang. The 1920s are always seen as a period of huge change and transition, particular in regard to the place of women, and that people of the time seemed conscious of this: many characters in the book comment that they seem to be living through a huge transition. Joy Nelson is 20 years old, when a bit of good luck finds her going to Boston to study music. Joy's angst is in contrast to the ordeals of her two roomies: Sara, a cold woman who fills in the emptiness with partying, and Jerry, a "valiant" woman with major heartbreak and strife in her past. Dancers In The Dark truly excels at showing these women as well-rounded, real people. Even when something terrible befalls Sara, this is not at all portrayed as something she deserves because of her "sinful life." It's very much a book of its time period--but it is progressive for the era. The ending is very satisfying in that regard, too.