The Red Shoe
Funny, tough-minded and tender, this is the story of Matilda and her two sisters growing up in Sydney in the 1950s at the time of the Cold War Russian spy crisis known as the Petrov Affair. Punctuated by the headlines of the time, it shows with unsettling clarity how the large events of the world can impinge on ordinary lives.
Classroom ideas
Click here to read "How I came to write 'The Red Shoe'" by Ursula Dubosarsky: click here.
For description of Zoe Sadokierski's cover design for Australian edition: click here.
Website for the 2004/2005 Old Parliament House exhibition on the Petrov Affair - full of information and photos and other intriguing details: click here.
2002 obituary for Mrs Petrov "Spies Who Loved Us": click here.
For a virtual tour of Sydney's historic State Theatre, much as it would have appeared to the three girls in 1954 when they went to see "Roman Holiday": click here.
Information and photos relating to 1953 Audrey Hepburn film "Roman Holiday" which the girls go to see: click here.
Listen to the theme song for "High Noon" sung by Uncle Paul: click here.
And here's the other song Uncle Paul sings "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square": click here.
The online text of Hans Christian Andersen's story, "The Red Shoes": click here.
Polio epidemic in 1950s Australia: click here.
The phenomenon of invisible friends in childhood: click here, or here.
Information on the Argonauts Club ABC radio program for children: click here, or here.
Jason and the Argonauts Greek myth: click here.
The Basin, picnic spot in Sydney: click here, or here.
Palm beach ferry: click here.
Some images of 1950s everyday life in Australia: click here.
Classroom activities created for National Reading Day: click here.
Reading group guide: click here.
Teachers' reviews: click here.
The Red Shoe is based on the 1954 Australian Cold War spy scandal, the Petrov Affair. This event has inspired several other Australian creative works, including Noelle Janaczewska's play Mrs Petrov's Shoe; Lee Whitmore's animation The Safe House, narrated by Noni Hazelhurst; Andrew Croome's Document Z, winner of the 2008 Vogel Award; and the 1987 television mini-series, The Petrov Affair.
One theme of The Red Shoe is how we perceive the news in everyday life - this youtube video of The Reels "After the News" could be a starting point for discussion: click here.
Here are some wonderful creations from students at the Great Southern Grammar school in Western Australia, inspired by The Red Shoe and their English teacher, Erin Miller. With permission and thanks.
Acrostic (by Jessamy Hunt)
Character cinquains (Grace Huffer)
Letter to Floreal (Katie McAllister)
Covers (group effort)
Reviews
This mesmerizing novel sets the fears and joys of childhood against a particular social reality in prose that is intriguing, amusing, and disconcerting to the reader. Dubosarsky is a writer who ought to be better known outside her native country. 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up Read more...
Ursula talking to high school students about The Red Shoe and classroom activities. National Reading Day Podcast Read more...
In lucid, poetic prose Dubosarsky explores the deep feeling and acute but partial perceptions of children struggling with a world under threat. Utterly luminous. The Toronto Star Read more...
This memorable, luminous work is a vital addition to the growing constellation of recent Cold War novels and a stellar read on its own. The Horn Book Magazine Read more...
Dubosarsky proves masterful in conjuring and connecting images. Publisher's Weekly Read more...
Subtly yet powerfully asserted. The Australian Read more...
She is a flawless writer whose mastery of storytelling leaves me breathless. Best Book Choices of the Year Read more...
Dubosarsky is a fine writer ... I too grew up in this area and I was overcome with the writer's beautiful recreation of my own world in this lovely part of Sydney. Viewpoint Read more...
She's a highly literary writer but she has the genius of being able to write on an utterly plain and simple level. So that's one of the best books I've read in a long time. Radio New Zealand's Saturday Morning with Kim Hill Read more...
Fans of Dubosarsky's work will follow her anywhere - down any rabbit hole, not matter how dark or strange - because they trust her outstanding talent as a storyteller. In her hands, the journey is always worth taking. The Age Read more...
The writing is so original and vivid that the reader is drawn right into Matilda's world. Magpies Read more...
Breathtaking. Junior Bookseller and Publisher Read more...
Her characters seethe with life and vitality, inviting the reader into a world which makes the familiar seem marvellous. The Canberra Times Read more...