An elegant debut

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When I first heard that Anton Du Beke of Strictly Come Dancing fame had written a novel I was immediately curious. Then I read saw the stunning cover and read the blurb and found that I was genuinely excited to read it.

Just as the ballroom is the beating heart of the Buckingham Hotel, the centre of this story is the dancing. This comes as no surprise of course given Anton's profession. The 1930s setting fits the tone of the novel perfectly. It's a bygone era, an age of romance where women dreamed of being swept off their feet on the dancefloor by handsome strangers. Set just before the outbreak of The Second World War, I was reminded very much of ITV's short lived drama series The Halcyon, following the owners and employees of a London hotel.

All in all One Enchanted Evening is surprisingly elegant debut. Writing on the subject that he knows best Anton's expertise shines through as he evokes the glamour and magical atmosphere of the era, tinged with the threat of war as the world is on the cusp of changing once again.