By Sylvia Disley
Sylvia Disley is a former Olympic athlete and Fleet Street journalist. She competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the sprint relay, and later worked for The Sunday Graphic, The Daily Express and The Star. In 1960, she had the opportunity to interview Margaret ‘Miss Bluebell’ Kelly, the founder of the Bluebell Girls dance troupe.
Now, at 95, Sylvia has written her first book, The Bluebell Story: A Tale of Grit and Glamour, celebrating Margaret Kelly’s legacy. Through captivating storytelling, Sylvia shares how Miss Bluebell overcame adversity and left a lasting mark on the entertainment world, proving that with determination, anything is possible.
The Bluebell Story: A Tale of Grit and Glamour is available to pre-order now.
This is a story of light and dark, of doors opening and doors closing; how one Irish woman overcame physical, financial and social barriers to create something spectacular inspiring generations of women to come. Her troupes of world-famous Bluebell Girls are a legacy to her persistence, vision and leadership.
Why did you want to write this book?
As a reporter in Fleet Street, when my sister became head Bluebell Girl and told me about this remarkable woman, Miss Bluebell, I felt this was such a terrific story that it simply had to be told. It had all the elements of a great story: orphaned as a baby, Bluebell was a frail invalid living in poverty. Through sheer determination and the ambition of her adoptive mother, she learned not only to walk but to dance, a passion that took her all over Europe until a door opened to her that was to change the rest of her life and many others to follow: the opportunity to build her own dance troupe at the famous Folies Bergere in Paris.
But this is more than just a rags-to-riches story. Hers is also a love story set amid war torn Paris. It tells us of how she survived incarceration and saved her Romanian-Jewish husband from the Nazis and how she, in true showbiz fashion, kept the show on the road throughout World War II. It reminds us that, with dogged determination and a little bit of Irish luck, one can achieve anything.
Who is your book aimed at?
The Bluebell Story is aimed at anyone who loves not only showbiz and glamour, but the struggle of real life behind the scenes. For anyone who has ever told you you can’t, this book proves that, with self belief and conviction, you can.
What is your vision for the book?
Although the book is more than sixty years overdue in finally coming to print, my vision for The Bluebell Story is for it to be brought to the big screen. With scenes of feathers, glamour and fast-paced dancing set amid a dramatic backdrop of wartime France, this story lends itself visually to film as well as theatre.
What is your favourite book and why?
The book that has had the most profound effect on me was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Its title belies the serious nature of its content. I was very moved.
I also love the imagination of J K Rowling and the amazing research behind Jean M Auel’s series of early human life following the story of Ayla.