Michèle Halberstadt

A stirring novel of love and music inspired by the life of pianist Maria-Theresa von Paradis, a blind virtuoso who was a contemporary of Mozart and Salieri

Maria-Theresa von Paradis, the only daughter of the secretary of the empress of Austria, was an exceptionally gifted child. By the age of seventeen, she was a full-fledged virtuoso, playing for the royal family, acclaimed for her beauty and talent . . . and because she was blind. Her father, unable to accept her condition despite her soaring musical gifts, enlists the help of Franz Anton Mesmer, the forerunner of the modern practice of hypnotism, where Maria-Theresa discovers the passions and emotions from which her blindness had previously protected her.

In the tradition of Sleeping with Schubert and The Cellist of Sarajevo, the novel is a moving portrait of courage, loss, the elation of first love—and the pain of lost innocence.

• Santé Zen

  “Honored by the jury of the Lilas Prize, this tale should be devoured without restraint.”

• Femme Actuelle

  “The author of Viennese Café tells us the fabulous destiny of a young blind pianist. Spellbinding and masterful.”

• Le Blog a Plumes

  “Eighteenth century Vienna, its music, the trials and tribulations of the heart, creates a deep romantic tone in the story. With a delicate and poignant touch, she tells the redeeming power of the love of music.”