What do you think?
Rate this book
Shall We Dance?
Loulou Landers, London's undisputed Queen of Vintage Fashion, meets a man on the eve of her dreaded forty-ninth birthday. He's kind, he's sensitive, he's divinely handsome and he carries a designer suit like George Clooney. Unfortunately, he's barely half her age, and Loulou's just not ready to 'go cougar'.
Then there is Loulou's 21-year-old daughter, Theo, who won't get a job, won't move out, wears chainstore fashion, and hasn't said a civil word to her mother for years. And she is on the verge of her own spectacularly unsuitable affair.
So how will Loulou cope with a daughter who's off the rails, a man who won't take no for an answer, an ageing process that won't slow down – not to mention a birthday party in a camping ground? Like she always has – with wit, grit and an exemplary sense of style.
Then there is Loulou's 21-year-old daughter, Theo, who won't get a job, won't move out, wears chainstore fashion, and hasn't said a civil word to her mother for years. And she is on the verge of her own spectacularly unsuitable affair.
So how will Loulou cope with a daughter who's off the rails, a man who won't take no for an answer, an ageing process that won't slow down – not to mention a birthday party in a camping ground? Like she always has – with wit, grit and an exemplary sense of style.
424 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Alderson
35 books299 followersMaggie Alderson is a British-Australian author (that’s how I’m supposed to write it, but I’m not very good at talking about myself in the third person, so I’m going to can it).
I was born in London, brought up in rural Staffordshire, and educated at the University of St Andrews - and then at the University of Life, Sydney campus.
I spent many years covering the fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London etc which is the best people watching ever (I had to remind myself to look at the models…).
An obsessed bookworm since childhood, all I wanted to do from the age of six was write books. I also hoovered up every magazine and newspaper I could lay my hands on and by the time I was a teenager was determined to edit a magazine and be a newspaper columnist.
I have edited five magazines (including British ELLE) and my Style Notes column ran in the Good Weekend colour supplement for twelve years, as well as being syndicated to The Times.
My first novel Pants on Fire was published in 2000 and was a bestseller in the UK and Australia. I’ve written eight more novels since, which have been translated into many languages.
I’ve also published four collections of my columns and a children’s book called Evangeline, the Wish Keeper’s Helper, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award in Australia.
My latest novel is called The Scent of You and is the story of perfume blogger Polly, facing up to a crisis in her marriage – and her sense of who she is - told through a filter of her obsession with perfumes (and also featuring very well dressed, seriously damaged, red-hot men, which are my speciality).
The book was inspired by attending perfume events in London and realising just how many fascinating people there are in that world (and a fair few brilliant nutters).
You can read my heroine's blog fragrantcloud.net
I was born in London, brought up in rural Staffordshire, and educated at the University of St Andrews - and then at the University of Life, Sydney campus.
I spent many years covering the fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London etc which is the best people watching ever (I had to remind myself to look at the models…).
An obsessed bookworm since childhood, all I wanted to do from the age of six was write books. I also hoovered up every magazine and newspaper I could lay my hands on and by the time I was a teenager was determined to edit a magazine and be a newspaper columnist.
I have edited five magazines (including British ELLE) and my Style Notes column ran in the Good Weekend colour supplement for twelve years, as well as being syndicated to The Times.
My first novel Pants on Fire was published in 2000 and was a bestseller in the UK and Australia. I’ve written eight more novels since, which have been translated into many languages.
I’ve also published four collections of my columns and a children’s book called Evangeline, the Wish Keeper’s Helper, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award in Australia.
My latest novel is called The Scent of You and is the story of perfume blogger Polly, facing up to a crisis in her marriage – and her sense of who she is - told through a filter of her obsession with perfumes (and also featuring very well dressed, seriously damaged, red-hot men, which are my speciality).
The book was inspired by attending perfume events in London and realising just how many fascinating people there are in that world (and a fair few brilliant nutters).
You can read my heroine's blog fragrantcloud.net
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 30, 2011
Look. It didn't take me 6 months to read this book. I lost it on the bus, found it, gave it back to the library, had to wait ages for it to be on the shelves again and huzzah! Reborrowed the book last week. I started it again from the beginning because let's be honest 'Shall We Dance?' isn't a book at makes an impact to stay in your memory retention part of brain. Au contraire, it's a book that keeps you company on these horrid winter nights. It's a fun filler book, between hard reads.
And it was fluff and at times, ridiculous but I enjoyed it. It was horridly predictable, a woman going through the change, not in the book, no, in the content. And a who is desperately trying to look cool. Spot stupid references to the satorialist, vintage clothes, camden, and three-day camping music festivals. Does she wind up with her nearest and dearest rock star friend of 30 years or the 25-year-old? Read it to find out, seriously, it will take you a week.
But if films like Notting Hill offend you, or any Hugh Grant ones for that matter, then stay away. Maggie Alderson is becoming the rom-coms of the literary world. And you can just see her writing begging pick me for the next Julia Roberts flick.
Still, very much a guilty pleasure for me.
And it was fluff and at times, ridiculous but I enjoyed it. It was horridly predictable, a woman going through the change, not in the book, no, in the content. And a who is desperately trying to look cool. Spot stupid references to the satorialist, vintage clothes, camden, and three-day camping music festivals. Does she wind up with her nearest and dearest rock star friend of 30 years or the 25-year-old? Read it to find out, seriously, it will take you a week.
But if films like Notting Hill offend you, or any Hugh Grant ones for that matter, then stay away. Maggie Alderson is becoming the rom-coms of the literary world. And you can just see her writing begging pick me for the next Julia Roberts flick.
Still, very much a guilty pleasure for me.
November 24, 2010
The completely unrealistic voice of the twenty-one year old ruined this for me. Theo sounds like an unpleasant fifteen year old. Didn't buy the end - all too neat.
October 6, 2014
I really enjoyed this book & found it hard to put down. It combined the romance & gorgeous vintage clothes. Maggie Alderson has a way of writing that really lets you see the characters & the settings where their lives play out.
October 25, 2017
A good example of the genre. Just the kind of superficial fluff I need right now. Well written and ephemeral with lovely frocks.
October 21, 2012
I started this book with such high hopes but the teenage daughter seemed so unrealistic that I had to put it down. I may try to read it again but at the moment I don't think I have the right mindset to enjoy it.
January 8, 2013
Ok. I have really really tried-hard to get into this book. I just cannot stand the Theo character and the dialogue style. Yes I do realise that the dialogue is part of Theo's character however, it is incredibly annoying and making the whole book an unpleasant read.
Read
May 8, 2014Nope. Giving up. I just can't with this book anymore.
July 20, 2022
Listened on borrowbox
Lulu Landers owns her own vintage clothing shop in London. She works amongst the best in the industry. With the support of her longstanding friends Keith, Chard and assistant Shelley. Until Lulu's daughter Theo starts to become more and more difficult and not making any decisions for her life. Will Lulu get Theo back? Will Lulu be able to move her life forward and find love again?
I enjoyed reading "The scent of you." So naturally moved along to another Maggie Alderson book.
This book is a great romance read. Although their are some deep and emotional subjects included in this book such as sexuality, single parenthood, violence, rocky parent child relationships and Adultery amongst other things. I do not feel this takes away from the romantic feel of the book but enhances the twists and turns this book throws your way.
However the fat shaming used throughout this book is something that should not be seen in a 21st century novel where it is difficult enough for woman. At one point both Lulu and Theo called two woman in the shop "Little and Large." Based on their size and it was hinted because of her size one would not be able to wear vintage so Lulu would find a good accessory.
Furthermore Theo is rude, obnoxious and a nasty individual. I know people go through different stages in their life but it is hinted that Theo's behaviour is because she is a brat. In my eyes theirs a long way between a brat and being nasty. It was very off putting and made me think about whether I could actually continue to read on with her behaviour. On the other hand I understand their is character development for Theo but I feel the novel really lacked the finer details on this. Suddenly in the last chapter she saw the error of her ways and changed but right up until that point nothing was different. It would have been nice to see her resolve be chipped away throughout and understand more about what was in her mind. This may have prevented the rude and nasty vibe.
Lulu Landers owns her own vintage clothing shop in London. She works amongst the best in the industry. With the support of her longstanding friends Keith, Chard and assistant Shelley. Until Lulu's daughter Theo starts to become more and more difficult and not making any decisions for her life. Will Lulu get Theo back? Will Lulu be able to move her life forward and find love again?
I enjoyed reading "The scent of you." So naturally moved along to another Maggie Alderson book.
This book is a great romance read. Although their are some deep and emotional subjects included in this book such as sexuality, single parenthood, violence, rocky parent child relationships and Adultery amongst other things. I do not feel this takes away from the romantic feel of the book but enhances the twists and turns this book throws your way.
However the fat shaming used throughout this book is something that should not be seen in a 21st century novel where it is difficult enough for woman. At one point both Lulu and Theo called two woman in the shop "Little and Large." Based on their size and it was hinted because of her size one would not be able to wear vintage so Lulu would find a good accessory.
Furthermore Theo is rude, obnoxious and a nasty individual. I know people go through different stages in their life but it is hinted that Theo's behaviour is because she is a brat. In my eyes theirs a long way between a brat and being nasty. It was very off putting and made me think about whether I could actually continue to read on with her behaviour. On the other hand I understand their is character development for Theo but I feel the novel really lacked the finer details on this. Suddenly in the last chapter she saw the error of her ways and changed but right up until that point nothing was different. It would have been nice to see her resolve be chipped away throughout and understand more about what was in her mind. This may have prevented the rude and nasty vibe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2020
This is the second book I have read by this author and I have thoroughly enjoyed both of them!
Loulou, ages 48 and her 21 year old daughter Theo, live together and have done since their father/husband left when Theo was very young.
Loulou, has a fashion store which sells vintage clothing. Her 21 year old daughter thinks these old clothes are disgusting, so wears chainstore clothes instead (possibly to annoy Loulou). She is incredibly rude to her mother; she won't get a job; she bribes her father into giving her more money ..... the list goes on - a real charmer!
Loulou is being pursued by a young man half her age who won't take no for an answer and Theo is attracting the attention of a much older man.
Will either or both of them succumb?
How will Loulou's 49th birthday party go when the plan includes camping (the whole idea of which makes Loulou shudder!)?
It is a lovely light read.
Loulou, ages 48 and her 21 year old daughter Theo, live together and have done since their father/husband left when Theo was very young.
Loulou, has a fashion store which sells vintage clothing. Her 21 year old daughter thinks these old clothes are disgusting, so wears chainstore clothes instead (possibly to annoy Loulou). She is incredibly rude to her mother; she won't get a job; she bribes her father into giving her more money ..... the list goes on - a real charmer!
Loulou is being pursued by a young man half her age who won't take no for an answer and Theo is attracting the attention of a much older man.
Will either or both of them succumb?
How will Loulou's 49th birthday party go when the plan includes camping (the whole idea of which makes Loulou shudder!)?
It is a lovely light read.
June 23, 2021
Loulou Landers, London's undisputed Queen of Vintage Fashion, meets a man on the eve of her dreaded forty-ninth birthday. He's kind, he's sensitive, he's divinely handsome and he carries a designer suit like George Clooney. Unfortunately, he's barely half her age, and Loulou's just not ready to 'go cougar'.
Then there is Loulou's 21-year-old daughter, Theo, who won't get a job, won't move out, wears chainstore fashion, and hasn't said a civil word to her mother for years. And she is on the verge of her own spectacularly unsuitable affair.
Then there is Loulou's 21-year-old daughter, Theo, who won't get a job, won't move out, wears chainstore fashion, and hasn't said a civil word to her mother for years. And she is on the verge of her own spectacularly unsuitable affair.
December 3, 2019
Loulou has a full life selling high-end vintage clothes and wrangling Theo, an ungrateful daughter with attitude. When she develops feelings for a guy her daughter’s age, life becomes very complicated indeed! Once again, Alderson tells a fun, romantic, and engrossing story with some great characters. It was hard to love Theo whose diary entries were hurtful and immature, but everyone is on a journey, why should she be any different?
December 27, 2018
This book is a summer read if there ever was one. I loved the MC but her daughter, honestly, I wanted to reach into the book and slap her. I am sure when I come across this book years later I'll struggle to recall it, but its not too bad. Except the daughter.
September 26, 2019
Usually a big fan of Maggie Alderson however I can’t get thru the first 5 chapters. The daughter is a brat and then some, and just something about the book in general making me annoyed when I try to read it
September 3, 2017
Took me a while to get into this one (have never liked spoilt princess heroines), but was crying happy tears by the end. Delightful to read a heroine over the age of 25 too!
January 30, 2018
A bit of a guilty pleasure and all a bit sickly sweet to take too much of.
February 5, 2018
A fun book but a rushed ending, which always bothers me
February 5, 2020
Good fashionista fun.
March 22, 2020
Slow beginning, but worth it to continue. Not being British, I had some difficulty with the slang.
dnf
July 12, 2020DNF @ 8%
I could NOT handle the chapters from the daughter's perspective. I assume we were setting up for some character development... but YIKES!
I could NOT handle the chapters from the daughter's perspective. I assume we were setting up for some character development... but YIKES!
January 3, 2021
3.5 stars
January 9, 2021
Very enjoyable!
December 18, 2022
Would have given it no stars if there was such a thing. Don’t waste your time
January 30, 2011
Shall We Dance? is a bit of a departure from Maggie Alderson’s other novels – the protagonist, Loulou Landers is -gasp!- almost 49 with an adult daughter. I’m not sure who this book is targeted to – ladies in that age range or the age range of her daughter. It took me a while to get used to, reading about a character that is not much younger than my mum. Theo, Loulou’s daughter is 21 and obsessed with chain store shopping, which really didn’t fit in with me either.
Happily, Alderson’s characters are very interesting. There’s Chard, the ageing rock star and Keith the gay best friend. Then there’s Beaney, CEO of chain store West Wind and Mark, a young man with a taste for the older ladies.
In terms of plot, it’s quite simple: the mother-daughter relationship and the question of age and relationships. Loulou seems to spend quite a lot of the first half of the book trying to set up Theo, as she is single-mindedly concerned that Theo has never had a boyfriend. I found this really shallow that in this day and age, that was all Loulou cared about. Not Theo’s happiness or career, but having a partner, going to the extreme of having a matchmaking party with like-minded friends. This is not the modern woman!
Fortunately for Theo, Loulou’s focus then turns to her birthday and Mark, who happens to be young, a great dance partner and madly in love with her. The issue of being a cougar is raised, there’s an awkward birthday party, some dramatic moments and all is right with the world again.
There’s a lot of description of clothes in this book (as Loulou owns a vintage shop) and Theo’s textspeak diary entries could get on your nerves.
This book, while light and interesting, didn’t really fit with me. I strongly believe in women being more than just boyfriend material and at this stage in my life, I’m not really interested in reading about the problems of women with adult children.
Happily, Alderson’s characters are very interesting. There’s Chard, the ageing rock star and Keith the gay best friend. Then there’s Beaney, CEO of chain store West Wind and Mark, a young man with a taste for the older ladies.
In terms of plot, it’s quite simple: the mother-daughter relationship and the question of age and relationships. Loulou seems to spend quite a lot of the first half of the book trying to set up Theo, as she is single-mindedly concerned that Theo has never had a boyfriend. I found this really shallow that in this day and age, that was all Loulou cared about. Not Theo’s happiness or career, but having a partner, going to the extreme of having a matchmaking party with like-minded friends. This is not the modern woman!
Fortunately for Theo, Loulou’s focus then turns to her birthday and Mark, who happens to be young, a great dance partner and madly in love with her. The issue of being a cougar is raised, there’s an awkward birthday party, some dramatic moments and all is right with the world again.
There’s a lot of description of clothes in this book (as Loulou owns a vintage shop) and Theo’s textspeak diary entries could get on your nerves.
This book, while light and interesting, didn’t really fit with me. I strongly believe in women being more than just boyfriend material and at this stage in my life, I’m not really interested in reading about the problems of women with adult children.
December 13, 2010
i'm kind of surprised that i enjoyed this book... i didn't really expect to, but it was given to me for a burrowed read so i decided to try it out.
Not bad... not bad at all, i've never read a book by Maggie Alderson, let alone heard of her, but although i wouldn't pursue any of her books, i must admit that i did have a certain liking for this book.
Shall we Dance is basically about a mother and her daughter. The main person in this would probably be the mother but the book has the POV's of both characters, the difference being that the daughter's POV went on for about 3 pages and the mother's went for about 10 each chapter.
Someone posted that the ending was too neat. I agree. I suppose that the ending is possible, but the odds of that aren't the best, and the ending moved too fast anyway. It's like, one moment, this is happening, and then the next, this is happening. Too much all at once. And i didn't really buy how some of the characters acted at the end. Particularly Marc, Chard, and Loulou.
I didn't exactly fall into this book, but it did hold my interest, so that was a plus. A light, entertaining read this one.
Not bad... not bad at all, i've never read a book by Maggie Alderson, let alone heard of her, but although i wouldn't pursue any of her books, i must admit that i did have a certain liking for this book.
Shall we Dance is basically about a mother and her daughter. The main person in this would probably be the mother but the book has the POV's of both characters, the difference being that the daughter's POV went on for about 3 pages and the mother's went for about 10 each chapter.
Someone posted that the ending was too neat. I agree. I suppose that the ending is possible, but the odds of that aren't the best, and the ending moved too fast anyway. It's like, one moment, this is happening, and then the next, this is happening. Too much all at once. And i didn't really buy how some of the characters acted at the end. Particularly Marc, Chard, and Loulou.
I didn't exactly fall into this book, but it did hold my interest, so that was a plus. A light, entertaining read this one.
February 6, 2011
I was disappointed with this book. The storyline was fine but the characters let me down.
LouLou Landers is the Queen of Vintage Fashion in London and as she is about to turn 49 and not liking the idea she meets a young man who was interested in her but she does not know how to handle him. She has 2 best friends Chard, an aging rock star and Keith, a gay insurance man. The friends were great. Theo who drove me crazy as she was so rude to her mother and her friends and I really did not like LouLou very much either especially the fact that she had not really gotten over her divirce 20 years ealier. She has never bought a man home so no wonder her daughter does not seem to like men??
So after being frustrated through the whole book over Theo and LouLou it has a good ending that brought it up to a 3.
LouLou Landers is the Queen of Vintage Fashion in London and as she is about to turn 49 and not liking the idea she meets a young man who was interested in her but she does not know how to handle him. She has 2 best friends Chard, an aging rock star and Keith, a gay insurance man. The friends were great. Theo who drove me crazy as she was so rude to her mother and her friends and I really did not like LouLou very much either especially the fact that she had not really gotten over her divirce 20 years ealier. She has never bought a man home so no wonder her daughter does not seem to like men??
So after being frustrated through the whole book over Theo and LouLou it has a good ending that brought it up to a 3.
February 22, 2014
Blah, Maggie Alderson, what were you thinking? Generic characters, extremely annoying daughter, storylines that just peter out. Lulu Landers, vintage clothes queen is turning 49. Maybe she is having a mid life crisis, but suddenly she has feelings for someone who is inappropriate for her. The story follows her dilemma and her choices she makes Her bratty daughter, Theo is a self centered disrespectful whiner, with no redeeming qualities. This means that even when she does something relatively nice, I didn't car, she was still in the negative. Maybe lulu could be interesting to some readers, but she didn't read real to me either!
And I hate when authors make their characters so stupid. Don't write things so blatantly obvious if you want your characters to have any cred. Truly, the ending was worthy only of extensive eye rolling.
And I hate when authors make their characters so stupid. Don't write things so blatantly obvious if you want your characters to have any cred. Truly, the ending was worthy only of extensive eye rolling.
July 4, 2012
Readers may be most familiar with Maggie Alderson through her (now discontinued) column in The Age newspaper’s Good Weekend magazine – it ran for her over a decade and was an unrivalled combination of humour, fashion and modern etiquette. I was very cross when it was canned (and made sure I told The Age) – the weekend newspaper is not the same without Maggie. Thankfully for her fans, Alderson keeps a blog, writes novels and is also what I consider Twitter gold – she tweets in the way one should (i.e. heavy on original and funny thoughts and light on links to random stuff).
In Shall We Dance?, Maggie combines fabulous fashion details with a good dose of humour.
Read my full review here: http://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wor...
In Shall We Dance?, Maggie combines fabulous fashion details with a good dose of humour.
Read my full review here: http://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wor...
November 29, 2010
Another good read from Maggie. Even though they can be cliched and the characters always seem to live in a perfect world with slight hiccups that you know are going to work out at the end. I do love getting lost - in this case in the world of vingage fashion, and english chic. I liked the fact that this book had two herioines, mother and daughter with two different point of views. Very enternaining.
February 11, 2015
Theo had to be the most annoying and selfish daughter ever! The one thing that kept me from giving this a 5 star rating is that it wrapped at the end (in a tidy little package) and just a few pages....not realistic. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and will ready more by Maggie Alderson in the future.
July 7, 2020
Easy read, good for a quiet Sunday in isolation. Liked how characters were created, Theo and Loulou, but wanted more for Loulou. She should have had a fling with her young boy, had a good time. Far too clean ending, too neatly tied up. However, loved the clothes, setting, shop, festival. Great to escape today.
Pop sugar challenge 2020- a book with a main character in their 20s.
Pop sugar challenge 2020- a book with a main character in their 20s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews