About Beethoven and his dedication of the Moonlight Sonata to a 16 year old student of his (later to become his lover?), Giulietta Guicciardi. Most of the book, however, centered on Giulietta and not Beethoven. I like historical fiction with real characters, places, situations, etc. This book had all of that. However, the writing was not as good nor the story as interesting as some I have read; the titles I can not remember! 380 pages ( )

When Julie Guicciardi meets Beethoven, she is instantly enthralled by his intensity and eccentricities. Under the guise of taking piano lessons, she finds a way to be close to him. Naturally, she begins to fall head over heels for him, and finds herself taking risks that could destroy her life.

Although this book started strong, it really seemed to bog down in the middle. I don't know that there was enough going on between the two to keep me interested. In reality, it seems that Julie pined for Beethoven, while he moved on to other lovers. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend. ( )

In one of the all-time most famous works of classical music (The “Moonlight” Sonata), Beethoven cryptically dedicates the tune to a Countess Guilietta Guicciardi, whom he taught piano to. Julie, as Morrisroe re-nicknames her, did not leave behind much in history, but as detailed in the Author’s Note, she likely had some form of romantic relationship with the Ludwig van Beethoven. Morrisroe imagines this relationship and Julie’s life as a whole in this work of historical fiction.

Morrisroe imagines Julie’s life as active. She married. She had children. She had affairs. She was a spy. She nurtured the enigmatic Beethoven. She was present for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The author bases as much of this as possible on the historical record, but details of the plot twists are her own reckoning.

I found tracking Julie’s life somewhat interesting, but also somewhat lacking. It saddened me that this character was not permitted the freedoms to express herself fully in her contemporary society. The plot also seemed somewhat contrived, but did fit the facts of history accurately. My intrigue did not build substantially until the Third Part in which Beethoven’s character transformed from a mere difficult genius into three-dimensional human being. I wish I would have seen more of this humanity earlier in the book as a reason that Julie first fell in love with him.

Nonetheless, Beethoven’s humanity and Julie’s nurturing play an interesting role in the unfolding of Beethoven’s masterful Ninth Symphony. Morrisroe herself presents this story with beauty. With care, she sets the psychological conflicts that led to the symphony, the staging of the presentation, the scandal of combining orchestra with chorus, and the buzz around the event. By itself, this description makes the book most reading. One can see why Julie was so dedicated to Ludwig – and why Ludwig in turn cared for her so much.

Overall, this work courageously presents the speculative inner life of Beethoven. It also depicts the cultural life of Europeans in the early 1800s. One gets the sense that the class of nobles governed with debauchery (and also gets a hint of why Americans so detested the European incestuous ruling classes). As with most historical fiction, this book does a good job of bringing a few historical facts to life. At the very least, the reader can listen to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in a new light. Even more, the reader can recapture some of the romantic buzz that was prevalent in Beethoven and Julie’s day. ( )