Julie Kavanagh Books in Order

Drawing on Frederick Ashton’s papers, Kavanagh traces the life of the choreographer who helped establish English ballet. His artistic collaborations, personal relationships, and wider cultural connections reveal a figure whose influence extended beyond the stage across five decades.

Kavanagh follows Rudolf Nureyev from poverty in the Soviet Union through his defection and international ballet career. The biography examines his artistic ambition, influential partnerships, and turbulent private life, tracing the dancer's effect on performance and celebrity.

Kavanagh reconstructs the life of Marie Duplessis, the nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan who inspired enduring works of fiction, opera, and ballet. Her rise from rural poverty illuminates the ambitions, relationships, and public mythology surrounding an influential cultural muse.

The 1882 Phoenix Park murders disrupt a fragile prospect of reconciliation between Irish nationalists and the British government. Kavanagh traces the political tensions, conspirators, investigation, and reprisals that turned two assassinations into an event with lasting consequences.