Mozart's Sister by Rita Charbonnier

This was a truly touching novel of passion, talent, family, love and the bravery to overcome stunning disappointment.An absolute inspiration of the strength it takes to move beyond talent and into expressing it. Mozart's Sister is a joy to reading with truly well developed characters that bring the passion of music and the challenges of genius to life.

The passion, the genius and obsession that was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is captured beautifully. The family's life in Salzberg is fraught with all the emotion of familiar family drama. The struggles of Nannerl as a woman in a man's world bring an appreciation of the freedoms women now claim. And thru it all, music rules. A fabulous book!


From the back cover:

"The fascinating life of Wolfgang's older sister, Nannerl - whose talent may have equaled her brothers'

Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, affectionately called Nannerl by her family, could play the piano with an otherworldky skill from the time she was a child. At the tender age of five, she fave her first public performance, amazing the assembled gentlemen and ladies with the beautiful music she created.

Yet, as her brother Wolfgang, who carried their father's dreams of glory. As the siblings matured, Nannerl's prodigious talent was brushed aside. Instead of playing alongside her brother in the world's great cities, she was forced to stop performing and become a provincial piano teacher to support Wolfgang's career. Nannerl might have accepted this life in her brother's shadow but for the appearance of a potential suitor who reawakened her passion for life, for love, for music - and who threatened to upset the delicate balance that kept the Mozart family in harmony."

About the author:
This is a first novel for Rita Charbonnier who is a trained pianist and opera singer. Rita is Italian, lives in Rome and also writes television scripts. Read more about Rita Charbonnier on MySpace.

Reviews
"A moving tribute to the spirit of a forgotten sibling. Music imbues every gripping page, and in revealing Nannerl, Charbonnier also gives us a different view of Mozart, both rounding out and exploding the myths of his brief, tragic life." - Suzanne Dunlap, auther of Emilie's Voice and Liszt's Kiss

A dysfunctional family, sex scandals, and true love - eighteenth century Europe was a far different world from ours, yet Rita Charbonnier's skill and verve make us feel at home, and we cheer for the brilliant, resilient Nannerl as she struggles to become much more than Mozart's sister. - Karen Harper, author of the Last Boleyn