Liszt's Kiss
A Novel
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The romantic story of a young female pianist in cholera-ravaged Paris of 1832, whose own tragedy leaves her susceptible to the passions and scandals of the composer Franz Liszt
At the height of the Romantic era in Paris, there was no bigger celebrity than the composer and pianist Franz Liszt. A fiery and gorgeous Hungarian, he made women swoon at soirees and left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Anne, a countess and talented young pianist whose mother has just died of cholera, hears Franz Liszt in concert and is swept up in his allure. The enigmatic Marie d'Agoult, a friend of Anne's late mother, takes her under her wing and introduces her to the artistic world -- despite the objections of Anne's sullen and sorrowful father.
Anne soon finds herself in the midst of dangerous intrigues, discovering a family secret so shocking that her father will go to any lengths to protect it.
With the ominous presence of Paris's most deadly epidemic looming over every turbulent event, Liszt's Kiss is a rich evocation of a remarkable period as seen through the eyes of a sensitive young artist.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dunlap's latest (after Emilie's Voice) is an uneven but spirited mystery-cum-romance set in 1830s Paris. After cholera claims her mother, the Countess Anne de Barbier-Chouant's cartoonishly cold father, the marquis, locks up her beloved piano and announces that he wants her to wed distant cousin Armand. Anne finds this idea unappealing, but uses Armand as an excuse to secretly visit her mother's friend, patron of the arts Marie d'Agoult. Anne becomes infatuated with the pianist Franz Liszt; at the same time, medical student Pierre Talon falls for her. Liszt, enamored of Marie, offers his services as tutor to Anne, whom he intends to use as cover for his flirtation, but Anne misunderstands and thinks that Liszt is in love with her. Convinced that Liszt is trying to seduce Anne, Marie, whose feelings for Liszt are late-blooming, tries to pair off Anne with Pierre. Dunlap manages to hold her narrative's momentum halfway through the novel, but a slew of too-convenient coincidences and contrived plot twists eventually overwhelm the narrative. The story picks up again when Dunlap focuses on the marquis's secret past. Ultimately, things are unconvincingly explained away. Dunlap's novel is a near-miss.
