| Petrova Fossil | |
|---|---|
| Born | Russia |
| Occupation | pilot |
| Children | None |
| Relatives | Pauline (sister by adoption) Posy (sister by adoption) Sylvia Brown (parent by adoption) Boris (birth father, last name unknown) Unknown birth mother |
Petrova Fossil is a character in the book Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, and two films which have been based on that book.
The middle Fossil sister, she was adopted by Gum (Great Uncle Matthew) from a young Russian couple who died in Russia. Petrova is a tomboy who is hardworking, diligent, honest and caring but interested only in engines, aeroplanes and motorcars. She is the only Fossil sister not interested in the arts, but instead dreams of becoming a great pilot. In the novel, Petrova is described as a technically proficient dancer and singer with no affinity for the arts. She plays Mytyl in a charity production of Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird and Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but walks on or dances on in various productions after that.
At the end of Ballet Shoes she is going to live with Gum and is on the way to following her dreams to be a great pilot. The subsequent novels Theater Shoes and Movie Shoes mention that Petrova works in the field of experimental aviation. In her short story What Happened to Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, Streatfeild says that she is unsure if Petrova's name ever ends up in the history books.