Sheila Fitzpatrick writes:

Niemetschek, for whose biography Constanze was a major source, is in the pro-Constanze camp. So, more judiciously, is Glover, who gives a generally positive picture not only of her but of the whole Weber clan, which she sees as having been a substitute family for Mozart as his ties with Leopold and Nannerl weakened. Her book is touchingly framed by descriptions of the main women in Mozart’s life, Nannerl and Constanze, both living in Salzburg in the 1820s (along with Sophia, another of Constanze’s sisters, who was also close to Mozart and present at his deathbed), cherishing his legacy and supporting each other. Their own Mozart was long gone, but in his place another Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had appeared, a musician of modest attainments whose mentors and protectors after the first Wolfgang’s death had included Salieri.

(LRB 5 July 2007)

Pan Macmillan | Paperback 408 pp. |ISBN: 9780330418584