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Meyer, Carolyn. 2008. In Mozart's Shadow: His Sister's Story.

"In the beginning, when I was four, Papa sat beside me at the clavichord, the music book open to minuets and other short pieces he had prepared for me, and he taught me how to play." (7)

In Mozart's Shadow is a novelization of Nannerl Mozart. Several years older than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, she was a talented, gifted musician in her own right.  When Wolferl showed talent and promise as well, the family--mom, dad, brother, sister--went on the road together. The children performed together. Nannerl would have her time to shine. Wolferl would have his spotlight. They'd perform together as well playing duets. Their father would join in on occasion as well. Music was the family business. The Mozart's world revolved around music. Unfortunately, while many many people enjoyed their performances, money never really quite rolled in the way the parents hoped. They wanted fame, yes, but they also wanted money. Lots and lots of money. The father had a habit of living beyond his means, beyond his income. He wanted the best of everything. He thought that by spending money he would look aristocratic. And he thought that by looking aristocratic, people would give him more money.

These times together on the road as a family performing music were some of the happiest of her life. Unfortunately, the good times would not--could not--last. Sooner than Nannerl would have liked, her father stopped touring as a family. Wolferl, her younger brother, was the rising star now. He was the one that everyone hoped and prayed would be a big STAR. If the family were to make a fortune, to have a rise in social standing--fame, glory, success, money--it would be because of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And the father didn't want Nannerl along for the journey--not even in the background.

Nannerl's hopes and dreams would not disappear or dissipate overnight. No, she clung to her dreams, her hopes for many years. Many. But her happiness was not to be. Not at all. Her life was full of  disappointments, shattered dreams, and losses. It brings to mind Langston Hughes' "A Dream Deferred." Though she was talented, she was a she. There were not any famous women musicians, keyboard players. Women singers occasionally made it big and became stars. But not musicians. There was no place in that society for a grown woman to succeed in the world of men. The best she could hope for--if she wanted to keep music in her life--was to teach music. That and to play privately for family and friends and acquaintances and such. But there would be no career as a professional musician.

Though Nannerl's story is far from happy, the book itself is rich in detail. The people. The places. The culture and society. Hair. Fashion. Gossip. Those who love historical fiction will find it interesting I'm sure.

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Nannerl's life is one of frustration. Raised by a domineering, controlling, authoritative, demanding father--worst stage dad ever perhaps--she was kept reined in even at home. She was in her early thirties and her father would not even consider letting her get married. He turned away any suitors that came around. She did fall in love. She did hope to marry. There was a man very much in love with her. But her father said never in a million years. She did eventually marry, but she never found love in that marriage. She married a man just as abominable--if not more so--than her father. Her true love stayed true to her even though they could never be together.

I'm not quite sure how well-known the existence the life of Mozart's sister, Nannerl, (Maria Anna) is generally speaking. (I was going to say with teens. But then I got to thinking...how many adults are familiar with her? I just don't know. I certainly didn't learn of her until a year or so ago. And that was just through a conversation with a friend. She mentioned her casually. So maybe I was clueless and the rest of the world is more aware. Or maybe she's just well known in certain sets.)

A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith
Review by Emily from Whimsy Books and Whimsy Daisy

A Walk with Jane Austen is a quiet ride through Jane Austen’s world. This book is not what I expected it to be. It is less about Jane Austen and more about author Lori Smith. It is a soft memoir. Smith’s talented writing weaves countless connections between the life of Jane Austen and her own.

Lori Smith finds herself growing older and unmarried, a position she never expected to find herself in. She tours England to visit the remaining sites of Austen’s world. During this trip, Smith discovers who she is, why we face challenges, and how faith can get us through.

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. In this engaging, deeply personal and well-researched travelogue, Smith (a PW contributor) journeys to England to soak in the places of Jane Austen's life and writings. The book is sure to ride the wave of Austen-philia that has recently swept through Hollywood and a new generation of Americans, but this is an unusual look at Jane Austen. Readers will learn plenty of biographical details-about Austen's small and intimate circle of family and friends, her candid letters to her sister, her possible loves and losses, her never-married status, her religious feelings, and her untimely death at the age of 41. But it is the author's passionate connection to Jane-the affinity she feels and her imaginings of Austen's inner life-that bring Austen to life in ways no conventional biographer could. Smith's voice swings authentically between the raw, aching vulnerability of a single Christian woman battling a debilitating and mysterious chronic illness and the surges of faith she finds in the grace of a loving God. And yes, she even meets a potential Darcy at the start of her journey. This deliciously uncertain romantic tension holds the book together as Smith weaves her own thoughts, historical research, and fitting references to Austen's novels into a satisfying whole.