The Incredible Story of Mademoiselle Paradis
Publisher
:
Albin Michel
Parution date
:
EAN
:
9782226182012
Number of pages
:
171
Description
***Winner of the Drouot Literary Prize***
***Short-listed for the Lila Literary Prize***
***English manuscript available***
Inspired by the life of Viennese pianist Maria-Theresa von Paradis, a friend of Mozart and Salieri, Mademoiselle Paradis evokes the elation of first love and warns of the pain of lost innocence.
Maria-Theresa von Paradis, the only daughter of the secretary of the empress of Austria, was an exceptionally gifted child. The empress took Maria-Theresa under her protection, providing her with the best music teachers in Vienna. By the age of 17, she was a keyboard virtuoso, playing for the Habsburg royal family and greatly admired by all who heard her play. She was remarkable for her beauty and talent . . . and because she was blind.
None of the many doctors she consulted could determine why she had lost her sight when she was 3. In desperation, her father asked the help of physician Franz Anton Mesmer, the forerunner of the modern practice of hypnotism. Working with Dr. Mesmer, Maria-Theresa discovers the passions and emotions from which her blindness had protected her. Propelled by a likable and unusual heroine, Mademoiselle Paradis is a timeless and true portrait of courage, loss, and hard-won wisdom.
Author
Michèle Halberstadt : A journalist, film producer, and author, Michèle Halberstadt has already published two novels: Prends soin de toi (Flammarion, 1991) and the very well received Café viennois (AlbinMichel, 2006). She produced and cowrote the movie Murderous Maids (Les Blessures assassines, 2000).
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