About the Author

Ivor Guest has long been prominently involved with the Royal Academy of Dance, which, under his chairmanship from 1969 to 1993, enjoyed a period of great expansion, and of which he is now a Vice-President. For more than 50 years Ivor Guest's contribution to the history of ballet has covered a very broad spectrum. Many of his books are standard specialist works noted not only for the depth of his research and his understanding of the political, social and artistic background, but for their readability. He is primarily known for his detailed chronicle of ballet at the Paris Opera, The Ballet of Enlightenment (1770-93), Ballet under Napoleon (1793-1820) and The Ballet of the Second Empire (1847-70).