A Dance to the Music of Time

A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve volume roman à clef by Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975. Critically acclaimed on its publication, it is a satire on English political and cultural life in the mid 20th century. It has been adapted by Hugh Whitemore for a TV mini-series in 1997, starring Simon Russell Beale, James Purefoy and Miranda Richardson.

Related Topics:
Roman à clef - Anthony Powell - 1951 - 1975 - English - 20th century - Hugh Whitemore - TV - 1997 - Simon Russell Beale - James Purefoy - Miranda Richardson

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The sequence takes the form of the reminiscences of the narrator Nick Jenkins who falls into a reverie at the beginning of the first volume (A Question of Upbringing, 1951) while watching snow descending on a coal fire. This reminds him of "the ancient world - legionaries (...) mountain altars (...) centaurs (....)". These classical projections bring back to him his days at school which open A Question of Upbringing. Over the course of the following twelve volumes, he recalls the people he met over the previous half a century. Little is told of Jenkins' personal life outside his encounters with the great and the good, with events, such as his wife's miscarriage, only being related in conversation with the principal characters.

Related Topics:
Nick Jenkins - A Question of Upbringing - 1951

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The title is taken from a painting by Nicolas Poussin, on which Jenkins reflects in the first two pages of A Question of Upbringing:

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:These classical projections, and something from the fire, suddenly suggested Poussin's scene in which the Seasons, hand in hand and facing outward, tread in rhythm to the notes of the lyre that the winged and naked greybeard plays. The image of Time brought thoughts of mortality: of human beings, facing outward like the Seasons, moving hand in hand in intricate measure, stepping slowly, methodically sometimes a trifle awkwardly, in evolutions that take recognizable shape: or breaking into seemingly meaningless gyrations, while partners disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle: unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance.

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