Juliet Waldron Reviews

Added November 6, 2004

Mozart's Wife

Author: Juliet Waldron
Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: February 2005
Genre: Fiction: Historical
Format: Trade Paperback
Price:
ISBN: 0759943109
Author Email/Website: www.julietwaldron.com
Reviewer: Melissa Levine

In Mozart's Wife, author Juliet Waldron's fictional account of the famous musician takes the reader beyond the phenomenon of his creative gift, etching a complex description of the man through the eyes of the person closest to him. What better way to know a man than through his wife's eyes?

Mozart is brought to the Weber home by the family's patriarch to meet the oldest of his four daughters, Aloysia. The enchantingly beautiful aspiring singer toys with Mozart's affections as she has past suitors, refuses his proposal, and initiates her singing career by becoming the mistress of a Count.

Third daughter, Konstanze Marie, becomes the rebound object of Mozart's adoration. The blue eyed, blond haired, nimble fingered composer gives his future wife her first kiss when she is not quite sixteen, "...releasing a feeling that spread like spilled honey."

Only after the family moves to Vienna does Konstanze and Mozart's courtship become serious and heated. Mozart rents a room in the family's home following the death of Mr. Weber allowing him access to the young Konstanze that is initially encouraged by her mother. After Mozart falls out with the widow Weber and arranges for Konstanze to leave the family home to become the live-in companion of one of his wealthy female pupils, the couple marries.

Their marriage commences with passion and overwhelming adoration of each other. But soon Konstanze becomes aware of how severely irresponsible Mozart is with money, preferring to make lavish purchases and loan money to so-called friends then to pay creditors. Mozart also repeatedly takes advantage of the attention females indiscreetly ply upon him because of his talent and popularity. Konstanze survives six pregnancies and the illnesses that frequently result. She suffers in poverty that is the direct result of her husband's mishandling of his income. Eventually, she seeks revenge for her husband's infidelities in the arms of another man. Only after his death does Mozart's wife find complete happiness and security.

Waldron's writing is humorous, erotic, and fluid. Her beautiful use of words reveals the delicate, volatile intimacy inherent in marriage. In the antagonist, Waldron characterizes a woman's quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) struggle to remain the dutiful wife while also protecting her children and herself from her husband's self-destructive behavior. Mozart's Wife is a consuming piece that reminds us that all humans, regardless of talent or skill, are within the boundaries of fault and outside the lines of perfection. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

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