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y separately published work icon The Virtuoso single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 The Virtuoso
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'"Looking back, I realise I'd always been waiting for the arrival of Noël Mewton-Wood. His entrance occurred with such ease that I began to believe he'd always been there, standing in the wings, long before I'd even laid eyes on him."

'London, November 1945: at a bohemian party, a young music student meets the charismatic concert pianist Noël Mewton-Wood. The two immediately become lovers, and the affair unleashes an overwhelming passion as grand and sublime as the music they both love.

'Ten years on, the student, now a successful writer, reflects on the affair, the forces that shaped him and the one he adored, and the romantic obsession that ruled and almost ruined his life.

'This assured, beautifully written debut novel is inspired by the brilliant life of Australian pianist Noël Mewton-Wood. Sonia Orchard vividly evokes the artistic world of post-war London in a novel of striking illuminations about music and imagination that is also a compelling and deeply moving love story.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Epigraph: I've found out nothing sharpens the imagination as much as expecting and longing for something, and this is how I've been for the last few days. I have been waiting for your letter, and as a result have written books-ful of pieces - amazing, crazy, sober stuff ... I sometimes feel as if I'm simply bursting with music. - Robert Schumann
  • Dedication: For James and Sunday

    And with a very special thanks to John Amis, John Dalby and my mother

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Sydney, New South Wales,: Fourth Estate ,
      2009 .
      image of person or book cover 4315170749267713646.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 327p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: 1 February 2009.
      ISBN: 9780732288075 (pbk.)

Other Formats

Works about this Work

Page Turners Gillian Dooley , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , January no. 359 2010; (p. 27)
This Year's Work in Fiction 2008-2009 Susan Midalia , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 54 no. 1 2009; (p. 51-64)

— Review of The Pages Murray Bail , 2008 single work novel ; The Lieutenant Kate Grenville , 2008 single work novel ; The Spare Room Helen Garner , 2008 single work novel ; The Anatomy of Wings Karen Foxlee , 2006 single work novel ; Boy On A Wire Jon Doust , 2009 single work novel ; The Sinkings Amanda Curtin , 2008 single work novel ; Bird Sophie Cunningham , 2008 single work novel ; One Foot Wrong Sofie Laguna , 2008 single work novel ; Avenue of Eternal Peace Nicholas Jose , 1989 single work novel ; Life in Seven Mistakes Susan Johnson , 2008 single work novel ; The Steele Diaries Wendy James , 2008 single work novel ; Butterfly Sonya Hartnett , 2009 single work novel ; Dissection Jacinta Halloran , 2007 single work novel ; Fugitive Blue Claire Thomas , 2008 single work novel ; Sweet Tracy Ryan , 2008 single work novel ; The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel ; Ransom David Malouf , 2009 single work novel ; The Good Parents Joan London , 2008 single work novel ; Vertigo : A Pastoral Amanda Lohrey , 2008 single work novella ; The Boat Nam Le , 2008 selected work short story ; New Australian Stories 2009 anthology short story ; The Slap Christos Tsiolkas , 2008 single work novel
The Other Noel Carol Middleton , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 309 2009; (p. 43)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
Subterranean Echoes Catherine Ford , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , March vol. 4 no. 2 2009; (p. 22)

— Review of The Book of Emmett Deborah Forster , 2009 single work novel ; The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel ; Things We Didn't See Coming Steven Amsterdam , 2009 selected work short story
Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Julia Ross , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 21 - 22 February 2009; (p. 22)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
[Review] The Virtuoso Brendan Gullifer , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2008-2009 vol. 88 no. 5 2008; (p. 49)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
Souls Draped in Life's Music Diane Stubbings , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 31 January 2009; (p. 13)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
Cover Notes Lucy Sussex , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 1 February 2009; (p. 29)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel ; Lines of Wisdom : Young Writers, Old Stories, Timeless Encounters 2008 anthology biography
Playing a Grand Obsession Rebecca Starford , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 14 February 2009; (p. 27)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
Worthy Pursuit of Tortured Soloist Kathy Hunt , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14-15 February 2009; (p. 11)

— Review of The Virtuoso Sonia Orchard , 2009 single work novel
Striking the Right Note Kevin Rabalais , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 31 January 2009; (p. 26-27)
Page Turners Gillian Dooley , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , January no. 359 2010; (p. 27)
Last amended 17 Jun 2020 13:12:04
Settings:
  • London,
    c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • 1950s
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