

Granny Dan
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.1
(145)
Danielle Steel
In my eyes she had always been old, always been mine, always been Granny Dan. But in another time, another place, there had been dancing, people, laughter, love. . . . She had had another life before she came to us, long before she came to me. . . . She was the cherished grandmother who sang songs in Russian, loved to roller-skate, and spoke little of her past. But when Granny Dan died, all that remained was a box wrapped in brown paper, tied with string. Inside, an old pair of satin toe shoes, a gold locket, and a stack of letters tied with ribbon. It was her legacy, her secret past, waiting to be discovered by the granddaughter who loved her but never really knew her. It was a story waiting to be told. . . . The year was 1902. A new century was dawning as a motherless young girl arrived at a ballet school in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the age of seven. By age seventeen, Danina Petroskova had become a great ballerina, a favorite of the Czar and Czarina, who welcomed her into the heart of the Imperial family. But events both near and far away shook the ground upon which she danced. A war, an extraordinary man, and a devastating illness altered the course of her life. And when revolution shattered Russia, Danina Petroskova was forced to make a heartbreaking choice—as the world around her was about to change forever. Granny Dan is about the magic of history. In it, Danielle Steel reminds us how little we know of those who came before us—and how, if we could only glimpse into their early lives, and see who they once were, there is so much we would understand and learn. For in this extraordinary novel, a simple box, filled with mementos from a grandmother, offers the greatest legacy of all: an unexpected gift of a life transformed, a long-forgotten history of youth and beauty, love and dreams.
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More Details:
Author
Danielle Steel
Pages
272
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2009-02-25
ISBN
0307566471 9780307566478
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"This book is my ultimate book and a great read. It will make you cry"
J B
Jackie Benson
"I'm not normally a Danielle Steele reader but this book was beautifully done. "
N B
Nicole Bennett
"While Danielle steels books may all have a similar vibe to them this one is and will always be in my top five. Such a great read. "
J H
Jessica Harrison
"The beginning of this was a 4 star (maybe higher) experience, and the last half was about a 3. It started off very strong with the prologue and recap of Danina’s life which made me care about her immediately and understand why the characters loved her so much. I didn’t even mind if it was telling and not showing; I thought it worked for this.<br/><br/>The story was very entertaining and emotional, and even though you know how it ends somewhat from the opening, I think it’s engaging. Poor girl almost dies like three times, and the first time, I was genuinely invested and nervous as if we don’t know she survives. So I guess that shows how convincing the writing of that part was.<br/><br/>I was less enthralled as soon as the romance officially started partly because I didn’t actually want it to happen, especially like that. I wish there had been no references to how childlike or young Danina was compared to her love interest. If he never made it a point to bring that up (or if he had simply been younger), I might have been able to go along with their weird love a little more.<br/><br/>It’s a sad but beautiful story of one woman’s life, and the ending is bittersweet. I did like how it was written for the most part. This is the first thing I’ve read from Danielle Steel, and I can see myself easily getting invested in her other stories as long as I don’t get distracted by repetitive stuff in her writing style."
I
Izzie
"Granny Dan had a life before she became Granny Dan. Back in Russia, Granny Dan was a prima ballerina who befriended the Czar and his family.<br/><br/>I loved reading about Granny Dan's past and the love she felt for her dancing, friends, and family. As I continued to read it makes you wonder how she went from living in Russia at a birth to moving to Vermont, which you know from the prologue.prolonged. I was hooked from the beginning and wanted to know more about her life before becoming Granny Dan."
M D
Melanie Dutka