Bastable Bernard Pseud for Robert Barnard (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Fine dj. First Edition. [good sound copy with no significant wear, moderate age-toning to edges of text block, former owner's initials plus date & place of purchase written in ink along edge of rear pastedown (concealed beneath rear jacket flap); the jacket is nearly flawless, with only some tiny bits of surface wear that you'll need a magnifying glass to see]. Comic novel set in 1830, the conceit being that an elderly Wolfgang Gottlieb ("he prefers the German form of his name") Mozart has remained in England after visiting as a child prodigy in 1764, "cursing the luck that made him a despised hack in a foreign country, instead of being cherished and honoured in his native Austria." Now in his 70s, but "still remarkably spry for his age," he appears to finally be catching a piece of luck: he's engaged as young Princess (future Queen) Victoria's piano teacher. Alas, "things go from bad to dangerous when she becomes Heir Apparent to the throne, and seems destined to be the victim of a tug-of-war between the new King, William IV, and her unwise mother, the Duchess of Kent.". Illustrated by (dj illus) David Frankland (illustrator).…