After the Last Dance

Travel Guide

If you’ve never heard of the Rainbow Corner in London, then put on your dancing shoes as you are in for the treat of your literary life. On these pages, the club comes back to life with every beat of every word as if it were the music itself.

The Rainbow Corner

The famous Rainbow Corner was a social club during WW2,  (opened in 1942) and run by the American Red Cross.It was a piece of home for the American soldiers far away on leave from their homeland and their families. In fact this was a real piece of Americana. These soldiers were issued every possession by the American government but it was the music, the dancing and the social activities they missed the most. This is where the Rainbow Corner came in.

The novels is extremely evocative and you can taste the coke, coffee and doughnuts which Rose is very keen to taste for herself. The sugar on her lips makes for a bitter sweet moment however as she then meets the solider who will change her life and not necessarily for the best. Sarra mentions in her author note that every detail she evokes is as it was – including Dunker’s Den and the fact that it was the first place in Britain to stock the now very widely available and famous drink  coca Cola. The Where Am I room really existed too and English women really did come here to dance and meet American soldiers.

This was not just a dance hall however it was a home from home – boxing matches, dinners, hair cuts and chat – everything was available here.

Now there is no sign of it, but this book captures it as if you were there with your Mary Janes ready to jive yourself. Ah, let the dancing begin…..