Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton | 1996 | Julie Kavanagh | Buy |
| 2 | Nureyev: The Life | 2007 | Julie Kavanagh | Buy |
| 3 | The Girl Who Loved Camellias | 2013 | Julie Kavanagh | Buy |
| 4 | The Irish Assassins | 2021 | Julie Kavanagh | Buy |
Julie Kavanagh’s four non-fiction books span arts biography and historical true crime. Secret Muses digs deep into the life of Frederick Ashton, one of the founders of the Royal Ballet. Nureyev: The Life took on a bigger public figure and became her best-known book, praised for its detailed research and frank treatment of the dancer’s personal life.
The Girl Who Loved Camellias is a biography of Marie Duplessis, the Parisian courtesan who inspired both a Dumas novel and a Verdi opera. The Irish Assassins moved into different territory entirely, reconstructing the 1882 assassination of two British officials in Dublin’s Phoenix Park and the conspiracy behind it. All four books share Kavanagh’s careful archival research and readable prose style.