Secret Muses : The Life of Frederick Ashton

Sir Frederick Ashton, Britain's greatest choreographer, was a major figure on the cultural landscape of the twentieth century and his influence extended far beyond the world of dance.

Julie Kavanagh traces Ashton's progress with a keen and sympathetic sense of both the man and his milieu.

The drama of his professional and private life - among his close associates were Constant Lambert, Benjamin Britten, W.

B. Yeats, the Sitwells and Cecil Beaton - is skilfully interwoven with vivid descriptions of the ballets themselves.