Lake Union Publishing, September 8, 2015.
Three Stars
In early nineteenth century Vienna, there was an explosion of new music, performers, and composers. The styles were new and modern, yet the profession was still dominated by men. Isabette Gruber is born into this world, and as a virtuoso piano player, she is seen as a threat to all of the men around her. Even Isabette’s mother is resentful of her passion and of her eventual success, essentially telling her that she must either submit to a man or spend the rest of her life in an asylum like her sister.
Isabette is kept down by these threats, and by the controlling nature of her manager who will do anything he can to have her to himself – until she meets Amelia Mason, a young singer visiting from Boston. She and Isabette learn to love and respect each other, encouraging the other to grow and succeed. But when it becomes clear to Isabette that Amelia wants more than friendship, she pushes away from her friend and instead turns to her music teacher, Josef Hauser.
Because of her mother’s mistreatment – and the institutionalization of her father and sister – Isabette is desperate for affection, even at the cost of her music career. She believes in Josef’s love, although it immediately becomes clear that he is using her only to advance his own career. Isabette is ambitious too, and believes in her own talent, but it is not enough as she is eclipsed first by Amelia and then by Josef. She must balance her sense of womanly duty with her own desire to be recognized for her music, and this struggle is pivotal to the course of the novel.
Various classical musicians make appearances in A Woman of Note, including Chopin, Liszt and Schubert. Although Isabette is a fictional character, her behaviour is accurate to the time, and is in fact based on real female musicians such as Schubert’s wife Clara, and Mendelssohn’s sister Fanny. It was easy to understand Isabette’s frustrations when, like Clara and Fanny, she was overlooked by her male contemporaries even though her talents outshone them.
Isabette struggles throughout the book to balance her career and her personal life. Near the end, Amelia asks her, “Can you have love and music?” (Loc. 4711) Isabette tells her friend that she wants what she’s always wanted – music – and she refuses to sacrifice it anymore. I loved the strength of Amelia’s character, and the fact that she got a happy ending that was perfect for her unique character. Isabette’s ending is more ambiguous, but she finally realizes that if she puts her music first, the rest will come with time.
I received this book for free from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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