First published 2013
Freddie Wentworth commands the Temple Stage School like a general. West End theaters depend on her child actors for Shakespeare, musicals, and Christmas shows. Nobody knows her real age or where she came from. Her students include Jonathan, a boy with rare talent, and his smooth competitor Mattie. The 1960s cultural revolution sweeps through London, challenging everything Freddie built. Joey Blatt arrives with schemes to save the school from bankruptcy, but his methods clash with Freddie's old ways. She must choose between preserving her principles and keeping the doors open. The children perform while adults struggle with money and morals. Fitzgerald draws from her own teaching days at Italia Conti to capture the peculiar world where young performers learn their craft amid adult compromises.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, underdog
Setting: London, Temple Stage School, West End
Period: 1960s
258 pages · Kindle Edition · Mariner Books