Plot
Each week Madame Marlova tells a tale from the world of ballet. Many of them are stories of inspiration and courage for aspiring ballerinas in Madame Marlova’s class, while others teach morals, such as leaving nothing to chance because it can be too risky. Some have a more unusual take, such as one story about gruelling dancing marathons in the days of the Great Depression.
In a sequel The Dancing Days of Lisa Marlova, Madame Marlova has retired and settles down to writing her memoirs. Now the story of how she became a top ballerina is told in full.
Notes
- Each of the Madame Marlova Remembers stories had individual titles.
- Madame Marlova Remembers – art by George Martin with some fill-in artists.
- The Dancing Days of Lisa Marlova was drawn by Tom Hurst
- Stories written by Marion Turner (under the pen name Fiona Turner) listed below, it may be that script name changed when it was actually published as some of the names don’t match up:
- 1. Dance, Cinderella, Dance
2. The Swan Queen
3. The House of Dolls
4. The Road to Fame and Fortune
5. The Perfect Ballerina
6. Interlude In Paris
7. The Girl Who Stole The Limelight
8. Put That Light Out!
9. The Gypsy Dancer
10. The Black Diamond
11. The Magic Balloon
12. Born to Dance
- 1. Dance, Cinderella, Dance
- “The Dance of the Butterfly”(Debbie #200) reprinted and translated into Dutch – Debbie Super Stripstory #18 (1987).
- “The Girl That Grew Too Tall” ((Debbie #195) reprinted and translated into Dutch – Debbie Super Stripstory #18 (1987).
- “The Cat That Came to Dance” reprinted and translated into Dutch as “Het witte katje” (“The White Kitten”) – Debbie Super Stripstory #18 (1987).
- “Clumsy Clara” (Debbie #199) reprinted and translated into Dutch as “Arme onhandige Freda” (“Poor Clumsy Freda”) – Debbie Super Stripstory #18 (1987).
- “The Dance of Life” (Debbie #201) reprinted and translated (without title) into Dutch – Peggy #4/1983.
- “The Dancing Days of Lisa Marlova” reprinted and translated into Dutch (as “Lisa Marlova”) – Debbie #28 (1982).
- “The Dance of Death” (Debbie #198) reprinted and translated into Dutch (as “Madame Marlova vertelt…”) – Debbie #35 (1983).
- “The Misery Marathon” (Debbie: #196) Reprinted and translated into Dutch as “De dansmarathon” (“The Dancing Marathon”) – Peggy + plus #11 (1983).
- “The Bird of Paradise” (Debie #204) reprinted and translated into Dutch (as “De paradijsvogel”) – Debbie #40 (1984).
Appeared
- Madame Marlova Remembers – Debbie: #186 (4 September 1976) – #211 (26 February 1977)
- Madame Marlova Remembers – Debbie: #255 (31 December 1977)
- The Dancing Days Of Lisa Marlova – Debbie: #376 (26 April 1980) – #387 (12 July 1980)
Other Appearances:
- The Boy Who Loved Ballet – Debbie Annual 1982 [Art: Tom Hurst]
- She Danced in Dockland – Debbie Annual 1983 [Art: George Martin]
- A Girl Like Betsy… – Debbie Annual 1984 [Art: George Martin]
List of Stories
- Madame Marlova Remembers – Debbie: #186
- The Dance of the Doll – Debbie: #187
- The Lonely Little Dancer – Debbie: #188
- Stage Door Johnny – Debbie: #189
- The Disappearing Dancer – Debbie: #190
- The Terrible Twins – Debbie: #191
- The Wheelchair Ballerina – Debbie: #192
- The Old Music Maker – Debbie: #193
- The Dance of the Dying Swan – Debbie: #194
- The Girl Who Grew Too Tall – Debbie: #195
- The Misery Marathon – Debbie: #196
- The Dance of the Goddess – Debbie: #197
- The Dance of Death – Debbie: #198
- Clumsy Clara – Debbie: #199
- The Dance of the Butterfly – Debbie: #200
- The Dance of Life – Debbie: #201
- A Dream Come True – Debbie: #202
- The Cat That Came to Dance – Debbie: #203
- The Bird of Paradise – Debbie: #204
- The Shadow Dance – Debbie: #205
- The Tigress – Debbie: #206
- The Dancing Doll – Debbie: #207
- The Animal Lover – Debbie: #208
- Journey of No Return – Debbie: #209
- Hetty’s Hidden Happiness – Debbie: #210
- Who’s Afraid? – Debbie: #211
- The Snowflake Ballet – Debbie: #255


Madame Marlova Remembers ran in Debbie 186 (Sep. 4 1976) – 211 (Feb. 26 1977). Apart from the initial episode, the stories added another title that reflected the content of that week’s story, all of which were in effect completes. The sequel The Dancing Days Of Lisa Marlova ran in the same story paper from 376 (Apr. 26 1980) – 387 (Jul. 12 1980).
“The Dance of the Butterfly” from Debbie #200 was translated into Dutch and published in Debbie super stripstory #18 (1987).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Girl That Grew Too Tall” was translated into Dutch and published in Debbie super stripstory #18 (1987).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Cat That Came to Dance” was translated into Dutch as “Het witte katje” (“The White Kitten”) and published in Debbie super stripstory #18 (1987).
Regards,
Ramon
“Clumsy Clara” was translated into Dutch as “Arme onhandige Freda” and published in Debbie super stripstory #18 (1987).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Misery Marathon” from Debbie #196 was translated into Dutch and published in Peggy + plus #11 (1983).
Regards,
Ramon
Thank you for the information, Ramon. Do you have the title for the Dutch translation of “The Misery Marathon”?
Apologies, should have added that! It is: “De dansmarathon” (“The Dancing Marathon”).
Regards,
Ramon
Thank you.
“The Dance of Life” seems to have been translated into Dutch and published (sans title) in Peggy #4/1983.
Regards,
Ramon
“The Dancing Days of Lisa Marlova” was translated into Dutch (as plain “Lisa Marlova”) and published in Debbie #28 (1982).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Dance of Death” – Debbie #198 was translated into Dutch (as “Madame Marlova vertelt…”) and published in Debbie #35 (1983).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Bird of Paradise” was translated into Dutch (as “De paradijsvogel”) and published in Debbie #40 (1984).
Regards,
Ramon
“The Dance of Life” was again reprinted in Dutch in Peggy + plus #8 (mid 1980s).
Regards,
Ramon