Drina Ballet Series #11 Drina Ballerina

As Drina's eighteenth birthday approaches, the young ballet dancer faces some important decisions.  The Director of the Dominick Ballet School puts an exciting proposal to her concerning the Company's new program.  And what will happen between Drina and Grant, her secret love for the past four years?

The above summary is from the publisher.

When I went through and purchased all the Drina books last fall, I did not purchase this one.  This book was published 26 years after what had been the final title in the series.  1991 is a far cry from 1965.  I was skeptical about whether the book would mesh with the rest of the set.  

My fears were not allayed by a few reviews I read.  I saw a couple of negative reviews, which said that the book has a different tone and that it isn't worth reading.

The other reason why I didn't purchase this book is because of how expensive the book is.  At the time I purchased the Drina books in fall 2021, this book was going to cost at least $60 for the softcover from 1991.  I didn't want to pay that much when I was already taking a great risk with the investment I had made in purchasing the first 10 books.

I had read the first part of the first book and thought that it was great.  Upon that sample, I purchased the rest of the first 10 books.  I just didn't know how much I would enjoy the set, so I didn't know if I should purchase this later book.

I started reading through the set in February.  After I had read two or three books, I decided that I ought to purchase this book.  I needed to have it just in case, since the series appeared to be an excellent one.  The book I purchased ended up costing $49.11.  It could have been worse.

When I read that this book had a different tone, I was imagining something like the difference between the Little House book The First Four Years and all of the previous books in that set.  This situation is not at all like that.

Reading reviews is often not helpful.  The only way to know whether I will like a book is to start reading the book.  I can't go by what someone else says.

The tone of this book is just slightly different.  There are a few details that jumped out at me at being odd, but aside from those, the book reads just like the other books in the series.  It fits perfectly. 

The most jarring detail that does not fit with the rest of the set is on page 39 when Rose says that Igor "can just go to hell!"  It's not strange for a book published in 1991, but it certainly wouldn't have happened in a children's book published during the 1960s.

Some readers don't feel that Rose would have become jealous of Drina.  I feel like hints of this were set up during the later books in the original series, so I didn't see it as that odd.

On page 19, Jenny has a "little computer."  This is logical for the early 1990s, but it makes no sense for the 1960s.

During one passage, Drina keeps saying "okay" which doesn't sound like her.  I love that Grant still says "I guess" at the start of many sentences.  Perfect! 

I was glad that the book did not contain any travelogue information, since that aspect wore on me in some of the previous books.  Several of the Drina books have a lot of filler that is travelogue content.  The purpose of this book was to wrap everything up in a neat package, so there was no space for lengthy descriptions of various locations.  

Aside from the minor differences, I feel that the book fits in perfectly with the rest of the books.  I just don't see any problem. 

This is an excellent book and is a good conclusion to the set, leaving no doubt as to Drina's destiny.

Drina Ballet Series #10 Drina Goes on Tour

Drina is thrust into the spotlight when her heritage as the daughter of Elizabeth Ivory becomes known to everyone.  Drina is interviewed in the newspapers and on television.  She is offered endorsements and positions with various ballet companies. 

Drina's head is turned by none of it.  She declines all offers and continues as a senior student at the Dominick.  Drina joins the company, manages a truce with Queen Rothington, and gets to see Grant Rossiter again.

Jenny feels sadness after Drina becomes famous.  From page 67 of the hardcover edition:

Now, as on other occasions, Jenny felt that one day Drina would slip wholly away from her.  Her beloved little friend, who had once danced in a cornfield, holding a poppy.

I am pretty sure that this is the first and only vintage series book I have ever read that contains the word "slut."  From page 115 of the hardcover edition:

"I'm sorry about this," said Mr. Johnson, who looked harassed.  "One of our usual landladies—a wonderful woman—is ill and can't take anyone this week.  I've had quite a job to find rooms for everyone.  Mrs. Hicks here is a bit of a dragon; rather a slut, too, I'm afraid.  But you'll have to manage, dears."

Queen, nearest the door, scrambled out and Drina followed.  A sluttish dragon didn't sound very cheering and the look of the house repelled her.  

Wait, what?  I figured out very quickly that "slut" means something different from what it usually does.  The house is quite filthy and slovenly.  In this usage, the word is a dated, British term that refers to a woman who is dirty and slovenly.  Nevertheless, I got a good laugh out of seeing the word in the book.

This book wraps up the series well enough that we can infer what will happen to Drina in the coming years.

This is an excellent book.

Drina Ballet Series #9 Drina Dances in Switzerland

"I almost can't talk about it," Drina said.  "I feel so awful about the whole thing.  Rose, I'm not going to be at the Dominick at all this winter..." 

When her grandmother insists that Drina accompanies them to Lugano for the winter, because of her grandfather's health, Drina is heartbroken, but determined to stick it out.  Misunderstood at Miss Selby's finishing school, she feels completely cut off from her friends at the Dominick and her ballet world.  But Drina cannot live without dancing and she creates her own ballet around her, to be rewarded in the end.

The above summary is from the publisher.

The plot is mildly annoying since it consists of a contrived roadblock to keep Drina away from the Dominick school for no good reason.  Aside from that and a good bit of travelogue content, the story is engaging and compelling.

This is a very good book. 

Drina Ballet Series #8 Drina Dances in Madeira

Drina is bitterly disappointed when she hears that her long-awaited holiday in Germany is cancelled.  But her grandmother offers some wonderful alternatives:  a Mediterranean cruise, or a visit to Scandinavia, or a trip to Madeira...  When Drina remembers that the Lingeraux Ballet Company is also going to Madeira for the summer, she has no trouble making up her mind! 

The above summary is from the publisher.

I skimmed in a lot of places because the book contains a lot of travelogue content.  My feelings toward this book are very similar to how I feel about Drina Dances in Italy.  While I very much enjoyed parts of this book, I found it disjointed with a lot of content that I skimmed.

The books that I like less have a lot of filler, which consists of the travelogue content.

The book is overall good to very good.

Drina Ballet Series #7 Drina Dances in Paris

Drina returns after a wonderful holiday in New York to a year's hard work at the Dominick School of Ballet.  She has a leading part in the Christmas play, and then is given a wonderful chance of dancing in Paris with her old friend Rose. 

Drina is growing up fast.  She is now fifteen, and in the stage of transition between the schoolgirl who lives for lessons at the Dominick School and the young woman with a growing interest in people, places, and things of beauty.

The above summary is from the publisher.

From page 103 of the Hodder and Stoughton hardcover edition:

The door did not open, and, unbidden, the memory of Queen and Christine came to her.  There had been a huge key in the lock.  She remembered it now, and maybe they had seen her enter and had had the sudden plan of making her a prisoner.  With her safely out of the way Christine would play Jane...

"Oh, how silly!" Drina said aloud.  "That would be like a bad book.  They just wouldn't."

But common-sense told her that Christine would.

The mean girls in these books typically do not resort to the dirty tricks of the Stratemeyer rivals.  In this case, they finally do, and the author has Drina say that it is "like a bad book."  I found that remark to be hilarious.

Drina's first friend, Jenny, is going through hard times.  Her family had to sell their home, and Jenny is going to school to learn office skills.  She will be entering the work force soon and is quite bitter about it.  Jenny is also around young women who wear heavy makeup and use rough language.  Their ways are rubbing off on Jenny.  This has caused Drina and Jenny's relationship to falter, and the best friends are having trouble finding a common ground.  

From page 127 of the Hodder and Stoughton hardcover edition:

...suddenly Jenny burst out:

"I know I've been awful!  But that dreadful hard shell is beginning to hem me in.  Oh, Drina, don't let it!  If I lose you then all my old life has gone.  You've always been like a sister and I do love you.  Don't drift away."  

In addition to Drina's struggles with Jenny, she is for the first time discontent at the Dominick School because of her feelings for Grant.  Drina misses Grant and thinks of him all the time.  I found all of this to be very compelling reading.

This is an excellent book.

Drina Ballet Series #6 Drina Dances in New York

Drina and her grandparents go on a trip to New York.  They sail to New York via a luxury liner.  During Drina's time on the trip, she becomes friends with Yolande, a young dancer who has extreme fear of dancing in front of an audience.  She also meets Grant Rossiter and falls in love with him on first sight.  

While in New York City, Drina continues her friendship with Yolande and tries to help the girl overcome her fear.  Drina enjoys spending time with Grant, while dreading her upcoming departure.  Drina knows that she is too young for Grant and is unlikely ever to see him again after she returns to London.

Drina is beginning to grow up.  She is frustrated that people still think she is very young because of her small size.  

On page 29 of the Collins edition, Drina frets about her appearance.

Drina glanced at herself in the looking-glass.  She still looked no more than twelve and it was beginning to be a slight grief to her.  To be nearly fifteen and to look like a child was really very annoying.

On page 112 of the Collins edition, Drina is thinking about her visit with Grant that night.

Driving back to Eighth Avenue in a taxi, with all the windows open and the hot wind blowing her hair about, she looked forward to the evening with that disturbing mixture of pleasure and pain.

Growing up, she thought, as the taxi stopped outside the hotel and she hastily counted out quarters and dollars, was really a most disturbing experience.

This book is as good as the first few titles in the series.  I did skip a small amount of travelogue information and at least one lengthy letter to a friend.  Other than that, I found all of the story to be quite engaging.  I loved the part on the ship, and I enjoyed Drina's interactions with Yolande.

This is an excellent book.

Drina Ballet Series #5 Drina Dances Again

Drina Adams is back again at the Dominick Ballet School in London, after a holiday in Italy—ready for a term's hard work.  But when Drina goes to see her friend Rose in the country, she pulls a muscle and there is no dancing for Drina for a few weeks.  Instead, she has the chance to act in Barrie's Dear Brutus, which is enjoyable and exciting, although acting will always be second-best for Drina.  Then she has the superb luck to dance at the Edinburgh Festival as Little Clare in Casse Noisette—and Rose goes too, as understudy.

The above summary was taken from the dust jacket of the British edition.

This book starts off very interesting and enjoyable.  Most of the book is pretty good.  A few spots are heavy on the travelogue, and I skimmed those parts. 

I enjoy that Drina's big secret, that her mother was the famous ballerina Elizabeth Ivory, is gradually revealed to one or two characters at a time, over the course of multiple books.  The secret is revealed to two important characters during this story. 

This series is centered around Drina's secret and her long road to success as a ballerina.  I love getting the payoff pieced out bit by bit so that it can be savored.

This book is overall very good.  I liked it better than Drina Dances in Italy but not quite as much as the first three books in the series.

Drina Ballet Series #4 Drina Dances in Italy

Drina Adams, who was sent to the country for a year's rest, returns to London's Dominick Ballet School.  Here she lives once again in the world she loves—the world of tutus and magic princes and hard, hard work.

At Eastertime, Drina goes to Italy to meet her Italian grandmother Adamo, whom she has never seen.  There, in Genoa, she is suddenly offered the chance every young ballerina dreams of—to dance with the Dominick Ballet Company itself!  

The above summary is from the publisher. 

Drina becomes friends with a refugee named Ilonka who came from the eastern European country of Lynzonia. 

From page 32:

Drina was by no means ignorant of the tragedies of Europe.  There were three girls and a boy at Chalk Green who had, in their different ways, escaped from behind the Iron Curtain.  In the little country of Lynzonia there had recently been a tragic and unsuccessful revolution against Soviet rule.

Lynzonia is fictitious, but the Iron Curtain and Soviet oppression in Europe were quite real.  It was timely and jarring to read this passage at the beginning of the second week of Russia's war with Ukraine.

Jenny loves farming films.  From page 67 of the Collins edition:

Jenny adored the farming film, which she pronounced more sensible than usual.

"They did cram in rather too many disasters—to make the story exciting, I suppose—but he was quite a sensible man.  I hate the soppy ones, who neglect their farms for their girl-friends."

Farming disasters and farmers neglecting their farms for their girls struck me as funny.

I found parts of this book to be a bit boring.  During one stretch, Drina exchanges letters with her friends, Jenny, Rose, and Ilonka, as well as with her grandmother.  This part of the story consists of one lengthy letter after another, all of which are in italics, which makes reading them to be more difficult than the rest of the book.  This part of the story also has a lengthy description of the entire plot of a ballet.  I was so bored and began skimming.

The book gets more interesting during the part about Igor Dominick's son in Italy.  It then goes back into more letters and lots of detail about Italy.  After I finished the book, I realized that a good part of it is a travelogue.  I think overall that the travelogue aspect is interesting, and I did enjoy some parts of it.  But I'm really struggling with reading right now, so I found it to be quite tedious.

Parts of the book are excellent, parts are very good, and other parts are boring.  The book is overall very good.

Drina Ballet Series #3 Drina Dances in Exile

Drina Adams, whose real name is Andrina Adamo and whose mother was the famous dancer Elizabeth Ivory, is heartbroken by the news that she must leave London, as her grandparents are off to Australia, and go to the Dominick Residential Ballet School in the Chilterns.

But she gradually comes to like her country exile and makes new friends, including the puppy Petrouchka, whom she rescues from a trap.  

The greatest excitement of all comes when she is given the name part in the ballet "The Changling," to be danced at the Dominick Theatre, London.

The above summary is from the publisher.

Drina is devastated when she has to leave the Dominick school for the country school.  The writing is so good that I felt what Drina felt as I read the story.  Like Drina, I grew to love the country school and regretted that Drina would be leaving it to go back to London.  

Drina continues to have to deal with the cutting remarks of her rivals.  The remarks cause Drina to feel insecure about her role in the ballet.  Miss Whiteway speaks to Drina and bolsters her confidence. 

From page 139 of the Collins edition:

Miss Selswick watched [Drina] with relief, and Christine, Queen, and Daphne [watched Drina] with a good deal of gloom.  They knew, somehow, that Drina had escaped from them.  Their gibes would not matter now; she was lost in the ballet, happy and confident again.

This is an excellent book just like the first two books in the series.

Drina Ballet Series #2 Drina's Dancing Year

Drina Adams auditions at the Igor Dominick Ballet School and wins herself a place as a student.  At the school, Drina makes friends with a girl named Rose.  Drina also makes a few enemies, but only because the girls are jealous of her.

She goes to stay with her old friend Jenny Pilgrim, and Jenny is as supportive as ever.  Drina's greatest hope is to be chosen to dance in the Christmas Pantomime, but her teachers have an even nicer surprise in store for her.

The above summary is from the publisher. 

I do tend to skim a small amount when Drina mentions a particular ballet and its story.  That doesn't mean anything to me, but fortunately, those passages aren't very long.

Drina decided at the end of the previous book to keep her mother's identity a secret.  Drina wants to succeed or fail on her own merit and not because her mother was the famous ballerina, Elizabeth Ivory.

As I read the second book, I reflected upon what an intense, high-strung girl Drina is.  I can relate to that, since I have always been a bit high-strung, less so now that I'm on a beta blocker as well as thyroid replacement hormone.  So, I understand Drina quite well and find her intensity to be fascinating.  

I reflected about how good of a friend Jenny Pilgrim is.  Jenny and Drina are very different, but they understand and support each other. 

Drina's rivals are actually sane.  In the Stratemeyer properties, the rivals tend to be a bit mentally unbalanced.  Obvious examples are Lettie Briggs from the Dana Girls series and Ethel Eaton from the Kay Tracey series.  Drina's rivals just make mean remarks and snub Drina.  You know, normal stuff that mean girls do, rather than the psychotic and criminal behavior of the Stratemeyer rivals.  

This book is excellent.

Drina Ballet Series #1 Ballet for Drina

Why couldn't her grandmother understand?  There was only one thing that Drina wanted—one thing only—to dance.  And now it was forbidden!

Ever since she was very small, Drina—an orphan whose real name was Andrina Adamo—had wanted to be a ballet dancer.  She had read about all the great dancers of the past; she had practiced steps since she could first sway to music; she had been exhilarated by the dancers she had seen perform—and yet her grandmother still refused to let her train for the ballet.  Drina wondered if she would have to dance for her own shadow, in solitude; or could she hope for a real career?

The above summary was taken from the dust jacket of the American edition.  The jacket's back flap has this information about the author, Jean Estoril, and the creation of the Drina series.

"Drina" was born one night at the Royal Opera House at the opening of the ballet season.  Both Les Sylphides and Daphnis and Chloe were on the bill, and by the second intermission Miss Estoril knew that she would have to write a story about a ballet student.  This was fortunate for young readers, since Miss Estoril has the rare faculty of being able to present believable, lovable characters, involved in situations that are exciting and suspenseful yet always realistic. 

 

I read the Collins edition, where the back cover states:  "A new fiction series set in the magical world of ballet.  The first six books follow the career of Drina, the daughter of a famous ballerina, along the high road to Covent Garden.  Jean Estoril's appealing young dancer heroine will captivate readers who love ballet."

Since I had read the back cover blurb, I knew before beginning the book that Drina's mother was a famous ballerina.  When Mrs. Chester, Drina's grandmother, pulls out all the stops to prevent her from becoming a dancer, I knew that was the reason.  I assumed that whatever had happened to Drina's mother was considered to have been caused by ballet.  I already knew why, so it wasn't a surprise to me.  I still read with anticipation, wondering how Drina would react whenever she learned about her mother.

As I wrote in my previous post, I was reluctant to try these books since I have had bad experiences with books about young dancers.  The experiences were bad because the authors described dancing in excessive intricate detail, so much so that I was extremely bored.  I could not read those books.  These books do not go into that kind of detail, so they are not boring.

I found the story to be thoroughly engaging and excellent from beginning to end.  

In my previous post, I included scans of the early part of the book so that readers can determine whether this book is of a style they can enjoy.

Drina Ballet Series Update

On March 1, I was asked about my reading of the Drina Ballet books.  I replied, "I have read the first three and have enjoyed them.  I am stuck at the beginning of the fourth book only because I got distracted."

I was distracted by passive media.  My attention span has been poor for the last two years, and I find it very hard to follow through with reading multiple books in a set.  I am currently horrible at it, and I cannot get myself under control.  My low reading output has been caused by the stress of the pandemic, the debacle of the last two school years, and other events.

On March 6, I gave an update on my reading via my Facebook page.

I made progress today.  I finally read through Drina #5 Drina Dances in Italy and am now reading #6 Drina Dances Again. I managed to finish my reviews of the first four Drina books.  The images are in place, and the posts are completely written.  They just need to be proofread.  

I set a rule for myself where I am requiring myself to write reviews of any books that I read.  I didn't do well with that last year. 

Furthermore, when my reading paused again, I set another rule where I must read all of the Drina books before I allow myself to read anything else.  Roadblock!

Since I could not allow myself to break the two rules, I had to push past the roadblock.  So here I am.  The Drina posts will not be published until I am close to finishing reading through the set.

I am now on spring break.  I have two recent acquisitions that I very much want to read, one of them in particular.  Since I must follow the rule where I am required to finish reading the Drina books before I can read anything else, I am now quite motivated to get the Drina books finished as fast as I can.  

I am not listing books on eBay or Etsy.  I am not watching passive media.  I have dropped everything.  It's Drina or bust.  I'm reading the Drina books as quickly as I can one after another.  I am now reading #8 Drina Dances in Madeira.  

Setting a rule for myself that I cannot allow myself to break works quite well.  This is getting done.

I have noticed an uptick of Drina books selling on eBay ever since I first mentioned this series.  Apparently at least one or two people decided to work on a set.  I thought I'd give some more information for anyone else who is wondering whether they might like these books.  They aren't easy to acquire and can be pricey.  Buying these books requires a bit of an investment, at least to get any titles beyond the first few. 

In my introductory post, I shared scans of the first 15 pages of text from the first book so that you can get an idea of whether you would like the book.

The Drina Ballet Series

A few people have asked me how well I'm enjoying the books, so here are my ratings.  

 1.  Ballet for Drina - excellent

 2.  Drina's Dancing Year - excellent

 3.  Drina Dances in Exile - excellent

 4.  Drina Dances in Italy - mixed bag but overall good to very good

 5.  Drina Dances Again - overall very good

 6.  Drina Dances in New York - excellent

 7.  Drina Dances in Paris - excellent

 8.  Drina Dances in Madeira - not finished but so far very good

I paused in my reading of the Drina books for many days when I was at the beginning of #4 Drina Dances in Italy.  I blamed my lack of progress on being distracted, which I was.  Now that I have read the book and struggled to read much of it, I have realized that I didn't find it as good as the other books.  It's disjointed and has way too much travelogue content. 

#5 Drina Dances Again is more interesting than the previous book, but it is not quite as good as the other books I have read.

#1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 are just excellent books.  I love all of them.

This is a series that must be read in order.  Oh, I suppose you could read them out of order, but that would take away most of the impact.  Each book begins immediately after the close of the previous book and continues with the overarching story.  

I have known where the story is going the entire time that I've been reading the books.  (Even though I do know some important plot details for the final books, please don't mention anything to me since you could end up telling me more than what I already know.)

Even if I hadn't known all along what the overarching story is, I would have guessed.  It's not hard to figure out.  Knowing where this is going doesn't take away from my pleasure.  I am enjoying seeing how this develops.

Drina starts the series as a young child.  She is around nine or ten years old during the first book.  In #5 Drina Dances in New York, Drina is 14 1/2 and falls in love.  With #5, the books transition more towards young adult books even though the tone is the same.  

A month ago, I purchased #11 Drina Ballerina so that I could read the conclusion to the series.  I originally wasn't going to purchase it since it has some negative reviews.  I changed my mind later.  The book still hasn't arrived.  It's coming from England, so it hopefully will arrive soon.  I am getting concerned.  The main problem is that if the book arrives after I finish #10 and start something else, then I might never read it.  I know how I am.  Once I move past a set, I won't ever get back to it.  If the book is going to arrive, I hope it does so at the start of next week.

With my current determination and reading speed, I should finish the set by around Monday.  That's why #11 needs to show up double-quick.

The Drina Ballet Series

I love buying books online.  I would not have most of what I own if not for online shopping.  But online shopping has its limitations.  I must know exactly what I want in order to find books online.  I cannot just browse randomly and find books that are new to me.  That is, not usually.  In a rare case of the stars aligning, I discovered the existence of the American Adventure series one evening in early 2020 via my eBay feed.  That sort of experience seldom occurs.  I am so grateful for when it does.

Since finding new books to read online is difficult and often impossible, brick-and-mortar bookstores remain important.  Nothing can replace seeing shelves of books in person, holding and examining them, and reading the first few pages to see if the books are of interest.  

In July 2021, I chanced to see two of the Drina Ballerina books in a local bookstore.  Actually, I saw them, reflected on how attractive they were, and then left the books behind.  There was no way I would ever want to read a book about a young dancer.  I've tried reading some of the Wildfire and Sweet Dreams books about dancers and found the books full of extensive detail about dancing that is uninteresting to me.  I wasn't going to make the mistake of buying the books.

The next time I was in the store later that month, the Drina Ballerina books beckoned to me.  I couldn't leave the books behind a second time even though I thought that I could never read them.  The books were so pretty!  I purchased them.

In around October 2021, I decided to try the first book, Ballet for Drina.  The book was really good.  I made it to page 52, then I made myself quit.  I needed all of the books in the set.

I discovered that the first six books in the series were published in the nice hardcover Collins edition in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.  The set was given the name "Collins Ballet Library."  Unfortunately, the rest of the series was not published by Collins.  Those books are, in my opinion, not very attractive books in comparison.  They are fine, but the Collins editions are exquisite.  

The Collins editions are actually reprints of the first six books, since they had previously been issued in hardcover with dust jacket.  I decided that I wanted to get the first six books in the Collins edition, and then I would settle for softcover editions of the remaining titles.

The Drina Ballerina series was written by Mabel Esther Allan under the pseudonym Jean Estoril.  The set consists of the following titles.

 1.  Ballet for Drina, 1957

 2.  Drina's Dancing Year, 1958

 3.  Drina Dances in Exile, 1959

 4.  Drina Dances in Italy, 1959

 5.  Drina Dances Again, 1960

 6.  Drina Dances in New York, 1960

 7.  Drina Dances in Paris, 1962

 8.  Drina Dances in Madeira, 1963

 9.  Drina Dances in Switzerland, 1964

10.  Drina Goes on Tour, 1965

11.  Drina Ballerina, 1991

I decided not to purchase #11.  Online reviews indicate that it doesn't read the same as the other books since it was written decades later.  I did manage to procure all of #1-6 in the Collins edition (with great difficulty!) and the remaining titles in relatively inexpensive softcover books.

I have now read the first book and have barely started on the second book.  The first book is excellent.  The second book begins four days after the first book ends, so the books do need to be read in order. 

I scanned the beginning pages of the first book so that you can sample it.  This is allowed under fair use.

You will have to click on the images in order to read the text.  

I hope that I continue to enjoy the books.  I have have a number of bad experiences with series where I enjoy the first book and then the series goes downhill.  Hopefully that is not the case with these books, especially considering how hard it was to build the set.