Nannerl Mozart is a prodigy. Her father teaches her religiously, and Nannerl is a real master of the clavier. Her younger brother, Wolferl is eager to learn, and despite his age, he learns the keys easy and quickly outpaces Nannerl.
At first, she's nervous, but when she works hard and continues to keep pace with her young brother, she's okay with it. Together, they dream up the Kingdom of Back, a magical, music-filled faerie world where Nannerl is promised her deepest wish if she completes multiple tasks for the faerie prince, Hyacinth. At first, he seems a beauitful, young boy her age who only wants to show Nannerl and Wolferl his magical world.
As Nannerl ages and Wolferl begins to compose (a task no woman may do) Wolferl tries to urge her to compose is secret, and as she does, she realizes all the things she must miss out on as a woman. She will be forced to dress pretty and eventually stop playing in public, because unlike her young brother, she is a girl.
As her brother's fame begins outpacing hers, Nannerl's tasks by the faerie prince become darker and more dangerous. Her brother is constantly sick, and the threat of losing him is almost too much, because in the end, Nannerl really does love him.
I've only read this and her Warcross duology, but the minute I knew what Kingdom of Back was about I knew I needed to get my hands on this! Marie Lu's writing is so lyrical, and as aa historical fiction fan, I really enjoyed how she took this infamous family and turned it intimate. My heart really hurt for Nannerl and her suffering as a young girl in mid-18th century. It's very visionary, and I could almost hear the music through her writing.
Highly recommend to fans of historical fiction and music!
At first, she's nervous, but when she works hard and continues to keep pace with her young brother, she's okay with it. Together, they dream up the Kingdom of Back, a magical, music-filled faerie world where Nannerl is promised her deepest wish if she completes multiple tasks for the faerie prince, Hyacinth. At first, he seems a beauitful, young boy her age who only wants to show Nannerl and Wolferl his magical world.
As Nannerl ages and Wolferl begins to compose (a task no woman may do) Wolferl tries to urge her to compose is secret, and as she does, she realizes all the things she must miss out on as a woman. She will be forced to dress pretty and eventually stop playing in public, because unlike her young brother, she is a girl.
As her brother's fame begins outpacing hers, Nannerl's tasks by the faerie prince become darker and more dangerous. Her brother is constantly sick, and the threat of losing him is almost too much, because in the end, Nannerl really does love him.
I've only read this and her Warcross duology, but the minute I knew what Kingdom of Back was about I knew I needed to get my hands on this! Marie Lu's writing is so lyrical, and as aa historical fiction fan, I really enjoyed how she took this infamous family and turned it intimate. My heart really hurt for Nannerl and her suffering as a young girl in mid-18th century. It's very visionary, and I could almost hear the music through her writing.
Highly recommend to fans of historical fiction and music!