The Novel in the Viola - Softcover

'An engaging read ... ripe for the screen' * Guardian * 'both a love story and an elegy to the English country house...the greatest pleasure is its stirring narrative and the constant sense of discovery within the historical sweep of Elise's life...Solomon's confident timing means that we sense what is about to happen only moments before it occurs, and are compelled to read on, not as one might expect for the frisson of a new event, but for the thrill of having our intuition confirmed.' * Stephanie Bishop, TLS * 'Prepare to be seriously charmed'. * The Times * 'a subtle and moving examination of the dilemma faced by immigrants to modern Britain'. * Observer * 'An unususal, comedy-rich novel... a treat of a book'. * Guardian * 'Utterly charming and very funny' * Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen * For Mr Rosenblum's List: 'The descriptions of England - as friend, adversary and eventually home - are exquisite. A touching, surprising and satisfying read.' * Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast * 'Prepare to be seriously charmed'. * The Times * 'a subtle and moving examination of the dilemma faced by immigrants to modern Britain'. * Observer * 'An unususal, comedy-rich novel... a treat of a book'. * Guardian * 'Utterly charming and very funny' * Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen * For Mr Rosenblum's List: 'The descriptions of England - as friend, adversary and eventually home - are exquisite. A touching, surprising and satisfying read.' * Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast * Solomons's confident timing means that we sense what is about to happen only moments before it occurs, and are compelled to read on, not as one might expect for the frisson of a new event, but for the thrill of having our intuition confirmed. * Stephanie Bishop, TLS * A warm story with a lovely uncloying sweetness. * Saga Magazine * A vivid and poignant story about hope, loss and reinvention * Psychologies * 'A deeply touching and blissfully romantic elegy for a lost world.' * The Times *

In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won't like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother's pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming and the world is changing. And Elise must change with it. At Tyneford she learns that you can be more than one person. And that you can love more than once.