Greetings, Reader Friend!
If you’re of a certain age and grew up in the U.S., you doubtless remember the movie, The Sound of Music.
It’s an old story, so why did Maria: A Historical Novel of Maria von Trapp, about the movie’s main character, become a bestseller when it came out in 2024?
Although it isn’t an exposé, Maria offers readers a more complex, fact-based view of the von Trapp family members than the movie portrayed.
Author Michelle Moran reveals each character’s motivations, while avoiding one-dimensional portrayals as heroes or villains.
For instance, Maria wanted the best for her family, and she possessed great talent and motivation, but these traits sometimes negatively impacted her family.
Major Characters:
Maria—protagonist who tells her life story over the course of the novel
Fran Connelly—Oscar Hammerstein’s secretary; he sends her to learn Maria’s life story and persuade her not to protest the musical’s divergences from the events of her life
Peter—friend and co-worker of Fran
Oscar Hammerstein—lyricist who picks up Maria’s story and (with Richard Rodgers) recreates it as a Broadway musical
Captain Georg von Trapp—widowed father of seven children when Maria meets him
Lorli (Eleonore)—Maria and Georg’s youngest daughter, she’s Maria’s companion in her declining years
Father Franz Wasner—chaplain and researcher of Gregorian chants, conducts the family choir
Lotte Lehmann—famous operatic soprano who stays with the von Trapps and encourages them to tour
Baroness Matilda—housedame; supervisor of the von Trapp house
Princess Yvonne—engaged to the captain before he met Maria
Strengths:
- The author cleverly wove Maria’s story with the production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Sound of Music, and the lives of those associated with the story.
- This novel reveals complexities unknown to the public:
- Hammerstein sacrifices a faithful portrayal of Maria’s life story to create a musical that would succeed in the post-World War II era
- In addition, Hammerstein fictionalizes his depictions of other members of the von Trapp family to tell a more winsome story
Weakness:
The points of views alternate between Maria and Fran, and at times, readers may find this disorienting.
Content review:
The threat of Nazi violence hangs over the story, but nothing occurs on stage.
My recommendation:
Readers like me will enjoy this fascinating novel. Maria expands on the story of The Sound of Music and improves it by setting the record straight in an entertaining way.
Reader, can you recommend a novel or work of non-fiction about the von Trapp family?