This account of the life and dancing times of the ballerina from Newcastle coincides, or almost, with her appointment as Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet. She follows Dame Peggy van Praagh, Sir Robert Helpmann and Ann Woolliams in that position and will no doubt find herself (as they did) adapting, confronting, persuading and opposing the administration and the board.

I have to admit that after reading these 127 well-designed pages and looking at the pictures – an index is missing, but a repertoire is appended – I know what Marilyn Jones has done but not why she did it, nor what she is likely to do in the company of Peter Bahen et al.