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The Reluctant Heiress
Spring, 1922
Tessa is a beautiful, tiny, dark-eyed princess - who's given up her duties to follow her heart, working for nothing backstage at the Viennese opera. No one there knows who she really is, or that a fairy-tale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way.
But secret lives can be complicated, and when a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage, Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny. . .
Magic Flutes (originally published as The Reluctant Heiress) is an enchanting story of love, music and secret princesses from Eva Ibbotson.
Tessa is a beautiful, tiny, dark-eyed princess - who's given up her duties to follow her heart, working for nothing backstage at the Viennese opera. No one there knows who she really is, or that a fairy-tale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way.
But secret lives can be complicated, and when a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage, Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny. . .
Magic Flutes (originally published as The Reluctant Heiress) is an enchanting story of love, music and secret princesses from Eva Ibbotson.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
109 people are currently reading
7161 people want to read
About the author
Eva Ibbotson
77 books2,346 followersEva Ibbotson (Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner) was a novelist specializing in romance and children's fantasy.
She was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925. When Hitler appeared, her family moved to England. She attended Bedford College, graduating in 1945; Cambridge University from 1946-47; and the University of Durham, graduating with a diploma in education in 1965. Eva had intended to be a physiologist but was put off by animal testing. Instead, she married and raised a family, returning to school to become a teacher in the 1960s. They have three sons and a daughter.
Eva began writing with the television drama “Linda Came Today” in 1965. Ten years later, she published her first novel, “The Great Ghost Rescue”. Eva has written numerous books including “The Secret Of Platform 13”, “Journey To The River Sea”, “Which Witch?”, “Island Of The Aunts”, and “Dial-A-Ghost”. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for “Journey To The River Sea” and has been a runner up for many of major awards for British children's literature.
Her books are imaginative and humorous and most of them feature magical creatures and places, despite that she disliked thinking about them. She created the characters because she wanted to decrease her readers' fear of such things.
Some of the books, particularly “Journey To The River Sea”, reflect Eva's love of nature. Eva wrote this book in honour of her husband (who had died before), a naturalist. The book had been in her head for years.
Eva said she dislikes "financial greed and a lust for power" and often creates antagonists in her books who have these characteristics. Some have been struck by the similarity of “Platform 9 3/4” in J.K. Rowling's books to Eva's “The Secret Of Platform 13”, which came out three years before the first Harry Potter book.
Her love of Austria is evident in works such as “The Star Of Kazan” and “A Song For Summer”. These books, set in the Austrian countryside, display the author's love for all things natural.
She was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925. When Hitler appeared, her family moved to England. She attended Bedford College, graduating in 1945; Cambridge University from 1946-47; and the University of Durham, graduating with a diploma in education in 1965. Eva had intended to be a physiologist but was put off by animal testing. Instead, she married and raised a family, returning to school to become a teacher in the 1960s. They have three sons and a daughter.
Eva began writing with the television drama “Linda Came Today” in 1965. Ten years later, she published her first novel, “The Great Ghost Rescue”. Eva has written numerous books including “The Secret Of Platform 13”, “Journey To The River Sea”, “Which Witch?”, “Island Of The Aunts”, and “Dial-A-Ghost”. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for “Journey To The River Sea” and has been a runner up for many of major awards for British children's literature.
Her books are imaginative and humorous and most of them feature magical creatures and places, despite that she disliked thinking about them. She created the characters because she wanted to decrease her readers' fear of such things.
Some of the books, particularly “Journey To The River Sea”, reflect Eva's love of nature. Eva wrote this book in honour of her husband (who had died before), a naturalist. The book had been in her head for years.
Eva said she dislikes "financial greed and a lust for power" and often creates antagonists in her books who have these characteristics. Some have been struck by the similarity of “Platform 9 3/4” in J.K. Rowling's books to Eva's “The Secret Of Platform 13”, which came out three years before the first Harry Potter book.
Her love of Austria is evident in works such as “The Star Of Kazan” and “A Song For Summer”. These books, set in the Austrian countryside, display the author's love for all things natural.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 700 reviews
January 5, 2015
This is EXACTLY the kind of book I would want to write. It's a ridiculous confection, but not a wispy meringue or an overdone croquembouche. It's like...a Sachertorte! Layer upon layer of substantial deliciousness that is almost but not quite too much, and best enjoyed with a strong cup of coffee. (Or like I did, in a hot tub...can you eat Sachertorte in a hot tub? I volunteer to find out.)
July 1, 2012
When I flipped through the book at the library the cover told me this was the story of beautiful dark eyed princess who has shrugged off her royal duties and taken up the life of theatre and how she meets and falls in love with a handsome and rich English businessman. For me atleast the story isn't so much about romance really. Atleast, not one of those heady romances where every other page is filled with detailed descriptions of the heroine's face. No, this was less of romance and more of, well more of, I can't say what exactly. It's a lot of everything to be sure.
Putzerl, or rather, Princess Theresa belongs to a more progressive branch of royalty. She is a staunch republican at heart and after the war she is one of those who fiercely support the end of royalty. She believes that art is the path to equality and music, something much bigger than all of us, is what will show the world that all of us are equal and royal titles don't matter at all. She is dedicated to art and so, informing her aunts, she sets off to Vienna where she takes up the job of a stage hand at the International Opera Company to serve the art she so believes in.
When Guy, a successful English businessman, simultaneously buys Putzerl's castle and then hires the opera company to perform in it Putzerl's two worlds meet.
But really, that's not the main bit of the story. As I said before, it's not about one particular thing or the other. It has a lot of stuff going on. It's about the peculiarities of royalty, the ridiculous snobbery and almost childlike obsession of the royalty to stick together and not give into being common. The royals aren't a bad lot really. Honestly from Eva Ibbotson's writing they seem this childlike group of terribly old Prince and Princesses secure in their absolute belief that Royalty will survive and their infantlike joy and interest in each other's family trees and lineage.
It's about Vienna, the wonderful city which lives and breathes music with names like Beethoven and Mozart associated with it. Ibbotson's story describes the city, it's splendour, it's streets, people, sites and history in every page, dropping off nuggets of information about the history and royalty in every paragraph and dialogue till unknowingly you learn as much (and sometimes more)about the city itself as you do about the characters. Vienna isn't just the setting of the story, it seems to be a living breathing character and perhaps the most important of them all. In every single paragraph there's an interesting little tidbit about the making of a famous building, or the marriage of some king, or what a famous artist did said or composed while in the city. All of it makes you want to put down the book and grab the first tickets to Austria that very moment.
It's about art. The one other thing that seems to be as important a factor as the city and it's royalty in this book is music and the opera. There are pages and pages on the antics that go on backstage at the theatre, the superstitions of the performers, their dreams and hopes, their fears and failures and eccentricites, the bailiffs, the pressure of performance, the rush to grab the audiences attention, the scarcity of money...the list goes on. The opera and it's inhabitants once again form a tidy little group of childlike adults, each more eccentric than the last and as a whole a not entirely unadorable little troup.
And then, only then, is it about any romance at all. But I loved the story. Every single last bit of it. Eva Ibbotson is one of those authors who leave you begging for more and I highly recommend anyone and everyone with an interest in art, music, history or theatre to pick up the book.
Putzerl, or rather, Princess Theresa belongs to a more progressive branch of royalty. She is a staunch republican at heart and after the war she is one of those who fiercely support the end of royalty. She believes that art is the path to equality and music, something much bigger than all of us, is what will show the world that all of us are equal and royal titles don't matter at all. She is dedicated to art and so, informing her aunts, she sets off to Vienna where she takes up the job of a stage hand at the International Opera Company to serve the art she so believes in.
When Guy, a successful English businessman, simultaneously buys Putzerl's castle and then hires the opera company to perform in it Putzerl's two worlds meet.
But really, that's not the main bit of the story. As I said before, it's not about one particular thing or the other. It has a lot of stuff going on. It's about the peculiarities of royalty, the ridiculous snobbery and almost childlike obsession of the royalty to stick together and not give into being common. The royals aren't a bad lot really. Honestly from Eva Ibbotson's writing they seem this childlike group of terribly old Prince and Princesses secure in their absolute belief that Royalty will survive and their infantlike joy and interest in each other's family trees and lineage.
It's about Vienna, the wonderful city which lives and breathes music with names like Beethoven and Mozart associated with it. Ibbotson's story describes the city, it's splendour, it's streets, people, sites and history in every page, dropping off nuggets of information about the history and royalty in every paragraph and dialogue till unknowingly you learn as much (and sometimes more)about the city itself as you do about the characters. Vienna isn't just the setting of the story, it seems to be a living breathing character and perhaps the most important of them all. In every single paragraph there's an interesting little tidbit about the making of a famous building, or the marriage of some king, or what a famous artist did said or composed while in the city. All of it makes you want to put down the book and grab the first tickets to Austria that very moment.
It's about art. The one other thing that seems to be as important a factor as the city and it's royalty in this book is music and the opera. There are pages and pages on the antics that go on backstage at the theatre, the superstitions of the performers, their dreams and hopes, their fears and failures and eccentricites, the bailiffs, the pressure of performance, the rush to grab the audiences attention, the scarcity of money...the list goes on. The opera and it's inhabitants once again form a tidy little group of childlike adults, each more eccentric than the last and as a whole a not entirely unadorable little troup.
And then, only then, is it about any romance at all. But I loved the story. Every single last bit of it. Eva Ibbotson is one of those authors who leave you begging for more and I highly recommend anyone and everyone with an interest in art, music, history or theatre to pick up the book.
February 16, 2010
Update: I finished... actually, I skipped a lot of the book. I just couldn't get into it. And it wasn't even the random big words (see earlier rant below). I just didn't really care about these characters. And there was so much in this book that didn't seem to fit quite right or that just felt like filler. I really doubt I'll ever read anything by Eva Ibbotson again.
Just a quick note... I'm only 40 pages in and I'm a bit annoyed with the author. "Vituperative" and "salubrious"? Really? She couldn't use "abusive" and "healthy"? (And yes, I had to look both words up) I'm all for learning new words... but this is a little much!! I don't like reading books where I don't know what's going on because the author has decided to constantly throw in my face the fact that their vocabulary is bigger and better than mine... we'll see if it gets any better as we move forward... or should I say, I will endeavor to ascertain an improved quality in the work that I am currently aspiring to accomplish. She must have a better thesaurus than I do...
Just a quick note... I'm only 40 pages in and I'm a bit annoyed with the author. "Vituperative" and "salubrious"? Really? She couldn't use "abusive" and "healthy"? (And yes, I had to look both words up) I'm all for learning new words... but this is a little much!! I don't like reading books where I don't know what's going on because the author has decided to constantly throw in my face the fact that their vocabulary is bigger and better than mine... we'll see if it gets any better as we move forward... or should I say, I will endeavor to ascertain an improved quality in the work that I am currently aspiring to accomplish. She must have a better thesaurus than I do...
November 11, 2022
Eh... I love Eva Ibbotson's world.
I have only one problem with her books, there are not enough. Practically, there are only six (plus short stories) for adults. And now I have read the fifth.
The book was simply compilation of: the love for music (classic music), the love for nature, the longing for the old world of great Vienna (the world before IWW) and a charming love story like from a fairy tale.
Ibbotson was an amazing person. I am sure of it, after reading her books and about her life. He understood human nature and she used her knowledge perfectly creating all characters.
She had also a wit, this kind I love the most.
I have written what I want to tell about Ibbotson stories in my reviews of The Morning Gift and A Company of Swans.
If you have read at least one of them, you know what I mean. If you don't you just have to try her. I recommend to start with one of her best (in my opinion): The Morning Gift or A Song for Summer.
P.S. Where is your 'Smultronställe'...? ['A smultronställe is any place that’s absolutely private and special and your own. A place where life is . . . an epiphany.]
I have only one problem with her books, there are not enough. Practically, there are only six (plus short stories) for adults. And now I have read the fifth.
The book was simply compilation of: the love for music (classic music), the love for nature, the longing for the old world of great Vienna (the world before IWW) and a charming love story like from a fairy tale.
‘Breathe?’ said Tessa, shocked. ‘I don't need to breathe when I’m with you'
Ibbotson was an amazing person. I am sure of it, after reading her books and about her life. He understood human nature and she used her knowledge perfectly creating all characters.
The Unconscious, lately discovered by Professor Freud and used by others to store their joys, fears and frustrations, was for Nerine a gigantic subterranean wardrobe.
She had also a wit, this kind I love the most.
But Farne was silent and forbidding, in his most ‘Mr Rochester’ mood.
I have written what I want to tell about Ibbotson stories in my reviews of The Morning Gift and A Company of Swans.
If you have read at least one of them, you know what I mean. If you don't you just have to try her. I recommend to start with one of her best (in my opinion): The Morning Gift or A Song for Summer.
P.S. Where is your 'Smultronställe'...? ['A smultronställe is any place that’s absolutely private and special and your own. A place where life is . . . an epiphany.]
September 23, 2009
Another joyous romp through Eva Ibbotson's world of love in the face of early 20th century post-war Europe, great art, and truly disarming heroines. Tessa (who just happens to be an Italian princess) has dedicated herself as a maid of all work in the service of opera. Guy (tycoon/former foster child & chaos creater) buys up her old palace in honor of his fiance. Said fiance turns out to be in love with herself. Which is actually a good thing because you know sooner or later Tessa & Guy are going to find one another. But will that be before Tessa is attacked by a terrified circus bear? Or prince something-or-other finally gets up the hutzpah to propose for the umpteenth time? Or the entire opera company goes belly up from sheer insanity?
September 21, 2009
I was so excited to find another Eva Ibbotson book! Awhile back I blew through A Song for Summer, A Countess Below Stairs, A Company of Swans, and The Morning Gift. When I surfaced again, I found myself really hoping the magic spell wouldn't end there. Happily there was one more sweet historical in store for me. THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS is a (retitled) re-issue of Ibbotson's Magic Flutes, which was originally published in 1982. It is set in the 1920s and revolves around the outrageously funny and touching members of the Viennese Opera Company, in particular a young woman named Tessa who eats, drinks, and breathes music and is the heart and soul of the company.
The narrative alternates between Tessa and Guy's stories as they work their way toward meeting one day in the bowels of the theater when Guy walks in on a weeping Tessa, who (an absolute martyr when it comes to opera) has just chopped off all her beautiful hair to provide a wig for the diva to wear in that night's performance. From there their lives intersect at more or less regular intervals and these two individuals with such wildly different backgrounds unexpectedly become friends. The one thing they share is a love of music. And music permeates the pages of this book, wrapping itself around you as you read. Tessa has turned her back on her past and made the opera the focus of her entire life, while Guy has all but nullified his humble origins by molding his life around the pursuit of wealth and power. When the woman he's loved since he was a young student at Oxford is suddenly widowed and back on the market, he lays out an alarmingly elaborate plan to woo and win her back and gift her with the life he believes she deserves. Unsurprisingly, no one is who they seem to be and that presents several sticky problems for our protagonists to tackle.
Opening up an Eva Ibbotson book is like biting into a hot biscuit smothered with butter and jam--at once perfectly satisfying and extremely comforting. Similar to A Countess Below Stairs there are few, if any, unpredictable events in this story. But that's not really what it's about. It's about those arresting passages you come across at just the right moment and think--perfect. Absolutely perfect. Similar to A Song for Summer and A Company of Swans the characters' love of art and nature fairly leap off the pages and it's hard to resist their charms and not wish you lived in a time and place where ancient royalty glided about crumbling castles and Mozart was god. In fact, my favorite bits in this book are the ones where the characters talk about Mozart and Beethoven and the way music makes life worth living. I liked Tessa and Guy quite a bit. I wish they had a few more scenes together. There is one point near the end of the story where they find themselves alone in the same place for the first time in months and months and their quiet conversation is exquisite. The story needed just a few more of those intimate moments to really cement the arc of their relationship and move it from like-minded acquaintances to soulmates. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my read, laughed several times, had tears in my eyes twice, and fell in love with each and every member of the opera company. For Ibbotson fans, this volume is not to be missed.
The narrative alternates between Tessa and Guy's stories as they work their way toward meeting one day in the bowels of the theater when Guy walks in on a weeping Tessa, who (an absolute martyr when it comes to opera) has just chopped off all her beautiful hair to provide a wig for the diva to wear in that night's performance. From there their lives intersect at more or less regular intervals and these two individuals with such wildly different backgrounds unexpectedly become friends. The one thing they share is a love of music. And music permeates the pages of this book, wrapping itself around you as you read. Tessa has turned her back on her past and made the opera the focus of her entire life, while Guy has all but nullified his humble origins by molding his life around the pursuit of wealth and power. When the woman he's loved since he was a young student at Oxford is suddenly widowed and back on the market, he lays out an alarmingly elaborate plan to woo and win her back and gift her with the life he believes she deserves. Unsurprisingly, no one is who they seem to be and that presents several sticky problems for our protagonists to tackle.
Opening up an Eva Ibbotson book is like biting into a hot biscuit smothered with butter and jam--at once perfectly satisfying and extremely comforting. Similar to A Countess Below Stairs there are few, if any, unpredictable events in this story. But that's not really what it's about. It's about those arresting passages you come across at just the right moment and think--perfect. Absolutely perfect. Similar to A Song for Summer and A Company of Swans the characters' love of art and nature fairly leap off the pages and it's hard to resist their charms and not wish you lived in a time and place where ancient royalty glided about crumbling castles and Mozart was god. In fact, my favorite bits in this book are the ones where the characters talk about Mozart and Beethoven and the way music makes life worth living. I liked Tessa and Guy quite a bit. I wish they had a few more scenes together. There is one point near the end of the story where they find themselves alone in the same place for the first time in months and months and their quiet conversation is exquisite. The story needed just a few more of those intimate moments to really cement the arc of their relationship and move it from like-minded acquaintances to soulmates. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my read, laughed several times, had tears in my eyes twice, and fell in love with each and every member of the opera company. For Ibbotson fans, this volume is not to be missed.
May 3, 2010
Eva Ibbotson's usual lovely effort to raise the bar in the romance category, redeeming a typical fairy-tale plot with real people and real humor. Taking place in Austria just after World War I, we are swiftly introduced to two people obviously intended for each other: Guy, an English foundling turned self-made millionaire, and Tessa, an Austrian princess with a lineage that goes back to Charlemagne. But Guy is smitten with a snobbish fiancee and buys Tessa's castle to impress her, while Tessa is keen to shed her heritage by working at a madcap opera company. The hero is a trifle thinly characterized, but Tessa is warm and charming in her single-minded devotion to music and freedom, and Ibbotson provides her usual sparkling supporting cast: Guy's fiancee who thinks of life in terms of couture clothes; a conductor writing the world's worst atonal opera about cannibalism; three ballet dancers called "The Heidis," and a handsome prince dumber than a plank. Better yet, Ibbotson really knows her opera.
August 24, 2024
My second time through, and I loved it just as much. Eva Ibbotson is who I want to be when I grow up as a writer. Delightful, funny, imaginative romance between a princess working backstage at an opera company and a self-made man who wants to give his fiancee the world.
July 20, 2016
When I reviewed A Countless Below Stairs last week, I felt as though I couldn't single out one of Eva Ibbotson's books for a 5-star rating because I love them all and don't have a favorite. Since then, a couple of friends have read my review and expressed interest, and I found myself backtracking from Countess and recommending The Reluctant Heiress (in some editions alternatively titled Magic Flutes) because they would probably like it even more. Apparently I have a favorite.
It will be difficult for me to praise this book in concepts or language radically different from those I already employed for Ibbotson and Countess, because the books are so clearly kindred. There is the same artfully drawn, loving reverence for Austria and above all for its music. There is a similar warm, tolerant humor about all the confused European and Eastern European aristocrats whose world has changed around them as their lives of clueless privilege have dissolved and they are now losing their palatial homes to American industrialists and society at large is easily finding them so irrelevant. Ibbotson unquestionably presents the softest possible side to what was, for many, a harsh and cruel revelation: in her books, those who cannot or will not adapt are taken care of and indulged to whatever extent possible by the members of their family who are willing or able to put aside pride and find a place in their new world. The industrialist who buys the palace in The Reluctant Heiress, for example, is kind and respectful toward the two aging, unmarried women who have lived their all their lives. (Because he's perfect, of course.)
While part of this story is an absolutely perfect girl falling in love with an absolutely perfect man, which seems to be the exclusive providence of fairy tales and simplistic romance novels, The Reluctant Heiress defies categorization as solely or primarily one of these genres. I can see how it draws comparison to Austen and Heyer, because there is something similar in the pacing, the level of detail about the society surrounding the leads, the gentle judgments of the foibles of many characters, and the innocent veneer softening what was surely the author's broader knowledge of how much suffering was taking place in various strata of society.
But even given all of these potential categorizations as fairy tale or romance (neither of which is inherently belittling in my mind), I assert that Ibbotson requires a designation all her own. I can think of no other fairy tale or romance or comedy-of-manners author whose writing depends so completely on the reader's shared appreciation for the nature of art -- particularly music. Tessa and Guy might be the leads in a Heyer romance, were it not for the fact that the subject over which they connect is discussed with such knowledge and nuance, and presupposes that one may evaluate the soul of another based on the music they love, how they respond to it, and how they speak of it.
This book is so much more a romance between Tessa and music than it is between Tessa and Guy. He's the right man for her because he understands her love of music and shares it as thoroughly as another human being could. But if you were to count the pages in the book it's probably about a 10:1 ratio how much time Tessa spends with music and how much she spends with Guy. In addition to the passages about music at its most sublime and transcendent (which had me in tears twice), there's also a fantastically clever and funny subplot about a Modern (or is it postmodern?) opera Tessa gets hoodwinked into financing, and every single offhand mention Ibbotson makes about the orchestra, the composer, the costumes, the diva, the choreography, and the set is a hilarious satire of the worst of what's happened in music since the end of the Romantic era. Ibbotson worships at the altar of beauty far too much to resist lambasting those who put even more time, money and effort into creating something ugly than into creating something beautiful. I love her for that... and for how artfully she does it.
So. Read this book it you are willing to go on the journey and love it as something that is as profound and vulnerable a portrait of a soul as I have ever read. Just leave it alone if you are only going to be able to see it as a pale imitation of Heyer or a fluffy little fairy tale and give it 3 or 4 stars because it's "nice." Ms Ibbotson has given you so much more than that, and my sincerest wish for her is that her work be read by those of like mind and spirit who adore her in proportion to her heart as a human being and her merit as a writer.
It will be difficult for me to praise this book in concepts or language radically different from those I already employed for Ibbotson and Countess, because the books are so clearly kindred. There is the same artfully drawn, loving reverence for Austria and above all for its music. There is a similar warm, tolerant humor about all the confused European and Eastern European aristocrats whose world has changed around them as their lives of clueless privilege have dissolved and they are now losing their palatial homes to American industrialists and society at large is easily finding them so irrelevant. Ibbotson unquestionably presents the softest possible side to what was, for many, a harsh and cruel revelation: in her books, those who cannot or will not adapt are taken care of and indulged to whatever extent possible by the members of their family who are willing or able to put aside pride and find a place in their new world. The industrialist who buys the palace in The Reluctant Heiress, for example, is kind and respectful toward the two aging, unmarried women who have lived their all their lives. (Because he's perfect, of course.)
While part of this story is an absolutely perfect girl falling in love with an absolutely perfect man, which seems to be the exclusive providence of fairy tales and simplistic romance novels, The Reluctant Heiress defies categorization as solely or primarily one of these genres. I can see how it draws comparison to Austen and Heyer, because there is something similar in the pacing, the level of detail about the society surrounding the leads, the gentle judgments of the foibles of many characters, and the innocent veneer softening what was surely the author's broader knowledge of how much suffering was taking place in various strata of society.
But even given all of these potential categorizations as fairy tale or romance (neither of which is inherently belittling in my mind), I assert that Ibbotson requires a designation all her own. I can think of no other fairy tale or romance or comedy-of-manners author whose writing depends so completely on the reader's shared appreciation for the nature of art -- particularly music. Tessa and Guy might be the leads in a Heyer romance, were it not for the fact that the subject over which they connect is discussed with such knowledge and nuance, and presupposes that one may evaluate the soul of another based on the music they love, how they respond to it, and how they speak of it.
This book is so much more a romance between Tessa and music than it is between Tessa and Guy. He's the right man for her because he understands her love of music and shares it as thoroughly as another human being could. But if you were to count the pages in the book it's probably about a 10:1 ratio how much time Tessa spends with music and how much she spends with Guy. In addition to the passages about music at its most sublime and transcendent (which had me in tears twice), there's also a fantastically clever and funny subplot about a Modern (or is it postmodern?) opera Tessa gets hoodwinked into financing, and every single offhand mention Ibbotson makes about the orchestra, the composer, the costumes, the diva, the choreography, and the set is a hilarious satire of the worst of what's happened in music since the end of the Romantic era. Ibbotson worships at the altar of beauty far too much to resist lambasting those who put even more time, money and effort into creating something ugly than into creating something beautiful. I love her for that... and for how artfully she does it.
So. Read this book it you are willing to go on the journey and love it as something that is as profound and vulnerable a portrait of a soul as I have ever read. Just leave it alone if you are only going to be able to see it as a pale imitation of Heyer or a fluffy little fairy tale and give it 3 or 4 stars because it's "nice." Ms Ibbotson has given you so much more than that, and my sincerest wish for her is that her work be read by those of like mind and spirit who adore her in proportion to her heart as a human being and her merit as a writer.
November 18, 2010
I feel like I am in a Bad Book Rut, I need a good book asap to restore my faith in writers everywhere!!
Author Eva Ibbostson is 1-1. Her book "A countess below stairs" was wonderful, I thouroughly enjoyed reading it. This book, "The Reluctant Heiress' was a flop.
It took me about 200 pages of reading this one (or scanning it) to become half-way interested. The wording in this one is just too much. I know she was trying to write fitting to the time period, but I just really didn't like it. The characters were hard to get to know and hard to keep straight-for they had nicknames and real names that were unusual anyways.The actual story itself was predictable.
I hate to bash this one so much, I will try another book by this author. I'm hoping it was just on bad seed out of many good ones?!?!?!?!?
Author Eva Ibbostson is 1-1. Her book "A countess below stairs" was wonderful, I thouroughly enjoyed reading it. This book, "The Reluctant Heiress' was a flop.
It took me about 200 pages of reading this one (or scanning it) to become half-way interested. The wording in this one is just too much. I know she was trying to write fitting to the time period, but I just really didn't like it. The characters were hard to get to know and hard to keep straight-for they had nicknames and real names that were unusual anyways.The actual story itself was predictable.
I hate to bash this one so much, I will try another book by this author. I'm hoping it was just on bad seed out of many good ones?!?!?!?!?
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January 29, 2023january, 2023:
most memorable fr using the word 'empurpled' not once but twice.
january, 2021:
i will happily sit down to read the same story again and again, in a sequence of subtly different flavours ! i'm a huge sap ! what of it !
most memorable fr using the word 'empurpled' not once but twice.
january, 2021:
i will happily sit down to read the same story again and again, in a sequence of subtly different flavours ! i'm a huge sap ! what of it !
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December 1, 2020Reread Nov 20
July 22, 2020
I had not intended to reread this until I started thinking about my neglected shelf of Eva Ibbotson books the other day. https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...
Now I also know from the audiobook of The Star of Kazan that her first name was pronounced Ava.
I must remember to reread Magic Flutes right before I go to Vienna (some day) as it showcases that city.
Now I also know from the audiobook of The Star of Kazan that her first name was pronounced Ava.
I must remember to reread Magic Flutes right before I go to Vienna (some day) as it showcases that city.
November 24, 2009
If I had read this book before I read A Countess Below Stairs it would have been one of my favorite books. A beautiful story with such a great leading lady, and the opera...Debussy, Mozart, Puccini--love love love. I like the sacrifice of everything toward the greater good of music, and that Beethoven's button business-genius.
However, this is strikingly similar to A Countess Below Stairs and that book has a slightly more appealing hero, bigger climax moment with that great line that goes something like "the ball might be for (such and such), but it was about..." well, you get the idea. Anyway, if you are wanting a dazzling Cinderella type story written post or pre WWII with rich details of European history then read one of these two books by Eva Ibbotson. If you want two good books to read, start with The Reluctant Heiress, if you just want one book, read The Countess Below Stairs
However, this is strikingly similar to A Countess Below Stairs and that book has a slightly more appealing hero, bigger climax moment with that great line that goes something like "the ball might be for (such and such), but it was about..." well, you get the idea. Anyway, if you are wanting a dazzling Cinderella type story written post or pre WWII with rich details of European history then read one of these two books by Eva Ibbotson. If you want two good books to read, start with The Reluctant Heiress, if you just want one book, read The Countess Below Stairs
June 26, 2010
Eva Ibbotson does amazing worldbuilding. Post WWI Vienna totally comes alive in this book. And her characterization is exquisite as always.
November 12, 2009
I've never really read any Eva Ibbotson before, at least I don't remember doing so. I got this one out because I was going through a ballet-fiction phase and the Company of Swans book looked good and this one looked interesting as well. Gosh, I could shoot myself for that run-on sentence. But anyway, I couldn't renew this book from the library, so I set out to read it in three hours. Needless to say this was an uncomfortable pace - roughly a hundred-something pages an hour, which would be a little more than a page every minute, right? No time to drink in anything. But instead of me reading about this world, I found that my insane speed made me fall into it.
The characters were all so great! Nerine, or Nedine, or whatever her name was, was a masterpiece of vanity. The opera troupe were all so loveable - you had to know from the beginning that the Fricassee would be a flop! The only person I had difficulty liking was Tessa - I liked her, of course, but I didn't love her. I think she would have been more loveable if it had been in first person. I felt like David deserved Tessa more than Guy did though, and that Guy deserved someone new entirely. Besides Tessa and Guy's shared love of music, they seemed like they just couldn't get along - not in a Lizzie/Darcy way, but in a obviously-these-two-people-aren't-meant-for-each-other way. Sigh. But I think that was just me. I'm picky like that.
The characters were all so great! Nerine, or Nedine, or whatever her name was, was a masterpiece of vanity. The opera troupe were all so loveable - you had to know from the beginning that the Fricassee would be a flop! The only person I had difficulty liking was Tessa - I liked her, of course, but I didn't love her. I think she would have been more loveable if it had been in first person. I felt like David deserved Tessa more than Guy did though, and that Guy deserved someone new entirely. Besides Tessa and Guy's shared love of music, they seemed like they just couldn't get along - not in a Lizzie/Darcy way, but in a obviously-these-two-people-aren't-meant-for-each-other way. Sigh. But I think that was just me. I'm picky like that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2009
This was typical Eva Ibbotson fare: a story that's just predictable enough to make it feel cosy and well-loved without feeling boring or clichéd. I like her blend of simple storytelling mixed with delicious description, only in this case I found the description began to detract from the story. I can forgive a little exaggeration, but too much and I start to squirm. Oh, and Guy's eyes changing colour felt just a bit too much for me. And -- as with all Eva Ibbotson's books -- there were references I didn't get ("the hands of an Altendorfer Madonna on a painting spree", anyone?). The story was about music and opera, but for those readers (e.g. me) who know very little about those subjects, some more explanation woven into the narrative would have been nice.
I liked the main couple (Guy and Tessa) in this book, but the minor characters stole the show. With all of Eva Ibbotson's books I feel like the minor characters really do have their own lives and problems and existences outside of the main character's story, but in Magic Flutes the supporting cast outshone Guy and Tessa by far. I ADORED Maxi and Heidi (and Tessa's retelling of her ~dramatic acting~ at the end had me in stitches). I also loved Martha Hodge.
I liked the main couple (Guy and Tessa) in this book, but the minor characters stole the show. With all of Eva Ibbotson's books I feel like the minor characters really do have their own lives and problems and existences outside of the main character's story, but in Magic Flutes the supporting cast outshone Guy and Tessa by far. I ADORED Maxi and Heidi (and Tessa's retelling of her ~dramatic acting~ at the end had me in stitches). I also loved Martha Hodge.
October 2, 2023
Ibbotson was a very talented writer for children, and her adult fiction resembles her fantasies for kids. They are set in pre-WWII Europe and they have a fairy tale like quality. Her heroines are winsome, talented, and have a child like innocence. They captivate wonderful men who have made bad choices in getting themselves engaged to beautiful but horrible women who really don't love these men, the men realize that the heroines are really their TRUE loves, and it all works in the end, usually by someone creating a way to dupe the wicked fiancees into believing the men are bankrupt, or have evil secrets, leaving the way clear for a happy ending.
So yes, there is a formulaic quality and these books could be as overly sweet as the Kaffe mit Schlag people drink in this one (set in Austria) and just as frothy. But Ibboton's sweet heroines are balanced by crafty servants, clever actors and other quirky characters who help advance the plot and bring about the final happy ending. They aren't deep, but they are delightful reading.
So yes, there is a formulaic quality and these books could be as overly sweet as the Kaffe mit Schlag people drink in this one (set in Austria) and just as frothy. But Ibboton's sweet heroines are balanced by crafty servants, clever actors and other quirky characters who help advance the plot and bring about the final happy ending. They aren't deep, but they are delightful reading.
June 8, 2016
Fun fact: one of the castles with an important role in the plot is supposed to be Neuschwanstein Castle, which was also the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle.
How fitting for a princess novel. Technically not a princess novel, but if you have aristocrats and pretty dresses, it counts in my book.
Eva Ibbotson's YA thing (as opposed to her MG books) seems to be comforting Cinderella fluff set in different historical European settings.
I read (or reread) these books when I want the good guys to be good, the bad guys to be bad, and for there to not be any particularly wrenching decisions. Also, pretty dresses.
This particular one is "Cinderella working backstage for a 1920s Viennese opera company."
How fitting for a princess novel. Technically not a princess novel, but if you have aristocrats and pretty dresses, it counts in my book.
Eva Ibbotson's YA thing (as opposed to her MG books) seems to be comforting Cinderella fluff set in different historical European settings.
I read (or reread) these books when I want the good guys to be good, the bad guys to be bad, and for there to not be any particularly wrenching decisions. Also, pretty dresses.
This particular one is "Cinderella working backstage for a 1920s Viennese opera company."
May 27, 2025
Reread in 2025 - oh my god. Pure magic.
Original review - Well, I almost cried finishing this because this was my last Eva Ibbotson adult book and she’s so special and one-of-a-kind, wow.
Tessa, an Austrian Princess, has a passion for music. Hiding her identity, she is hired to work backstage at the Viennese Opera. Meanwhile, her castle is for sale and who should buy it but Guy, an orphan turned businessman who’s about to marry a woman he thinks he’s in love with, until he meets Tessa.
This is an incredible book, I loved it so much. It’s classic Ibbotson with a passionate heroine, a very capable, take-charge hero, lots of humour and charm and found family. Eva Ibbotson writes Anastasia types of novels - the heroine’s always had a reversal of fortune before the book and I’m just obsessed. I adore this author. She made me want to visit Austria, her sense of place (1922 Austria) absolutely transports you.
Original review - Well, I almost cried finishing this because this was my last Eva Ibbotson adult book and she’s so special and one-of-a-kind, wow.
Tessa, an Austrian Princess, has a passion for music. Hiding her identity, she is hired to work backstage at the Viennese Opera. Meanwhile, her castle is for sale and who should buy it but Guy, an orphan turned businessman who’s about to marry a woman he thinks he’s in love with, until he meets Tessa.
This is an incredible book, I loved it so much. It’s classic Ibbotson with a passionate heroine, a very capable, take-charge hero, lots of humour and charm and found family. Eva Ibbotson writes Anastasia types of novels - the heroine’s always had a reversal of fortune before the book and I’m just obsessed. I adore this author. She made me want to visit Austria, her sense of place (1922 Austria) absolutely transports you.
December 24, 2022
2020: Eva Ibbotson is the greatest of all time. I have never wanted to go to the opera more.
EDIT: I had to downgrade this by a star because whilst it slapped, it did not make me as giddy as the others have.
November ‘22 re read: A combination of The Secret Countess and A Company of Swans, it doesn’t quite hit the same heights as those two, presumably because I didn’t read it for the first time as a tween. It has some great moments though.
I think Guy is perhaps Ibbotson’s most…maybe unlikeable hero is the wrong phrase, but he actually spends most of the book being quite horrible to Tessa.
I myself have two elderly great aunts living in Vienna so thank you Eva for the representation. Sadly, I am not a secret Austrian princess, just a simple Grünwald from Wimpassing.
EDIT: I had to downgrade this by a star because whilst it slapped, it did not make me as giddy as the others have.
November ‘22 re read: A combination of The Secret Countess and A Company of Swans, it doesn’t quite hit the same heights as those two, presumably because I didn’t read it for the first time as a tween. It has some great moments though.
I think Guy is perhaps Ibbotson’s most…maybe unlikeable hero is the wrong phrase, but he actually spends most of the book being quite horrible to Tessa.
I myself have two elderly great aunts living in Vienna so thank you Eva for the representation. Sadly, I am not a secret Austrian princess, just a simple Grünwald from Wimpassing.
December 12, 2022
Ah...Eva Ibbotson! I loved this one nearly as much as The Morning Gift, for its wonderful behind-the-scenes glimpses of the opera and its humor and its fairy-tale-ishness. Tessa works as the wardrobe mistress and general lackey of a Viennese opera company, but she's really the Princess Theresa-Maria of Pfaffenstein. Millionaire Guy Farne buys Pfaffenstein for his beloved fiancee and hires the opera company to put on--what else?--Mozart's The Magic Flute. Love ensues.
Delightful and enchanting.
Delightful and enchanting.
May 4, 2009
Oh no, fooled by the great re-naming bug. I loved this book when I read it years ago under its original title of Magic Flutes. The new packaging is nice. However, all the time I was waiting for this to come out I thought I was waiting for a NEW story.
April 1, 2019
i couldn’t care less that this is 100% the same book as the secret countess, hair scene included, i will gladly read this story 5 more times... bring on a company of swans
August 11, 2021
Always a nostalgic and comforting read when reading Eva Ibbotson. I love her writing. A mix of arts, music and love that actually makes one’s heart twist in one’s chest.
June 13, 2023
So good! I absolutely adored it and enjoyed every page. Eva Ibbotson was a wonderful writer.
March 24, 2022
3.5 stars
This novel was charming and naive. No deep emotions there, no profound psychological revelations, and you could see it was written decades ago, but I still enjoyed it very much. This is my second novel by this author, and I'll definitely seek more of her books.
Ibbotson reminds me a little of Mary Stewart, another mid-20th century author I enjoy, even though Stewart wrote stories contemporary to her (1960s and 70s), while Ibbotson wrote pseudo historicals, set in the relative past. But both writers flirt with romance and both set their tales in exotic locales. Ibbotson's descriptions of the imaginary Austrian castle Pfaffenstein in this book are so loving and evocative, the castle becomes a character in its own right, just as Stewart's scenery so often feature in her own novels.
This particular book is set in Vienna and the Austrian beautiful countryside right after the WWI. I doubt there is much historical truth in it, but it gave me pleasure to read it. Which is the most important aspect of fiction in my view.
This novel was charming and naive. No deep emotions there, no profound psychological revelations, and you could see it was written decades ago, but I still enjoyed it very much. This is my second novel by this author, and I'll definitely seek more of her books.
Ibbotson reminds me a little of Mary Stewart, another mid-20th century author I enjoy, even though Stewart wrote stories contemporary to her (1960s and 70s), while Ibbotson wrote pseudo historicals, set in the relative past. But both writers flirt with romance and both set their tales in exotic locales. Ibbotson's descriptions of the imaginary Austrian castle Pfaffenstein in this book are so loving and evocative, the castle becomes a character in its own right, just as Stewart's scenery so often feature in her own novels.
This particular book is set in Vienna and the Austrian beautiful countryside right after the WWI. I doubt there is much historical truth in it, but it gave me pleasure to read it. Which is the most important aspect of fiction in my view.
December 4, 2019
There's an old chocolate shop in Vienna, Altmann and Kuhne, that produces miniature boxes of the most exquisite chocolates. Watch out though - before you know it, you've demolished the entire box and you feel faintly ill. Just so with Evan Ibbotson's romantic confections. Two in a row and my teeth are beginning to hurt. On to a more substantial diet, although I expect I'll be back once I've recovered
from this romance-induced sugar coma.
from this romance-induced sugar coma.
December 24, 2022
A wholesome fairytale-like romance set in Austria in the 1920’s. The kind of romance where they kiss at the end. I needed to read a book in a new country to complete my reading around the world goal for the year, but being December, I wanted something lighter. After several DNF’s, I finally went with Eva Ibbotson. She didn’t let me down. There was quite a bit about opera though, which isn’t an interest of mine. But, overall, a good read.
January 14, 2024
Tender childhood comfort reread
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