Note in Music

By Rosamond Lehmann

Book Overview

1930. Lehmann's life was as romantic and harrowing as that of any of her fictional heroines. Her dramatic life, work and relationships crisscrossed the cultural, literary and political landscape of England in that era. A Note in Music begins: She was dressing for dinner. Next door, she heard Tom splashing in his bath, and singing over and over again the refrain of one of his three tunes: Oh, lucky Jim, How...wi...en-vy-him. Each time she heard the mournful bellow, the same memory cut across her exasperation. She remembered August, and her home, hundreds of years ago; and the garden fete on the sunny lawn. She saw the Parish Ladies sitting on the imported cane Parish Room chairs, and sinking too far into the grass, for it had been a wet summer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385279582
• ISBN13: 9780385279581
• Release Date: September 1983
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, best book I've read all year

I am currently discovering a group of female British novelists whose works have been incredibly underrated - namely, Elizabeth Taylor and Rosamond Lehmann. Had Lehmann been a man, no doubt she would have been hailed as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century; she is every bit as good as E.M. Forrster, D.H. Lawrence, or Somerset Maugham - all of whom I consider among my favourite authors. And yet, even my librarian had never heard of Rosamund Lehmann and had to pull her books out of storage. It is absolutely appalling that the literary world has consistently overlooked brilliant female writers. Anyway, this book is a story about a depressed, unhappily married woman who becomes enchanted by a young man who is hired to work with her husband. It is incredibly well-written, at times very funny, always intelligent, and left me so very grateful to have discovered my now favourite writer. Excellent read, highly recommended.