{"product_id":"mr-beethoven-paperback","title":"Mr. Beethoven - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePaul Griffiths\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBased on the German composer's own correspondence, this inventive, counterfactual work of historical fiction imagines Beethoven traveling to America to write an oratorio based on the Book of Job. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt is a matter of historical record that in 1823 the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston (active to this day) sought to commission Beethoven to write an oratorio. The premise of Paul Griffiths's ingenious novel is that Beethoven accepted the commission and traveled to the United States to oversee its first performance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGriffiths grants the composer a few extra years of life and, starting with his voyage across the Atlantic and entry into Boston Harbor, chronicles his adventures and misadventures in a new world in which, great man though he is, he finds himself a new man. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRelying entirely on historically attested possibilities to develop the plot, Griffiths shows Beethoven learning a form of sign language, struggling to rein in the uncertain inspiration of Reverend Ballou (his designated librettist), and finding a kindred spirit in the widowed Mrs. Hill, all the while keeping his hosts guessing as to whether he will come through with his promised composition. (And just what, the reader also wonders, will this new piece by Beethoven turn out to be?) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book that emerges is an improvisation, as virtuosic as it is delicate, on a historical theme.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul Griffiths\u003c\/b\u003e is a Welsh novelist, librettist, and music critic. Admired especially for his writings on classical music, he has worked as a critic for major publications such as \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London), \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eMyself and Marco Polo\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in the UK in 1989 and won the 1990 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. He has published two other novels, \u003ci\u003eThe Lay of Sir Tristram\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003elet me tell you\u003c\/i\u003e, and a collection of short stories, \u003ci\u003eThe Tilted Cup\u003c\/i\u003e, along with books of music history and criticism and several librettos. He lives in the village of Manorbier, Wales.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 312\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 6.9 x 5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 26, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51767943004448,"sku":"9781681375809","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/91d2547acf486d3e6925678cd1b2fc34.webp?v=1780321067","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/mr-beethoven-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}