Hannah Fielding's Blog, page 37

The Grand Tour of Europe: an influential tradition

Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy – the setting for my new novel, Concerto – draws visitors from far and wide for its stunning vistas: the lake, the mountains, the beautiful […]

‘Save my child’: Writing of mothers in my novel Concerto

‘Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.’ So wrote the poet Robert Browning. In my new book, Concerto, the beautiful, all-encompassing love of the mother is a foundation for the […]

‘Personal and yet universal’: Music to touch the deep recesses of the soul

I listened to a lot of classical music while writing my new novel Concerto, set on Lake Como, but one modern track featured regularly in my playlists. For me, one […]

‘Seeing’ the story from the hero’s perspective in Concerto

I have always enjoyed fiction which offers multiple points of view on a story. It is traditional in the romance genre to tell a story from the heroine’s point of […]

Spectacle, grandeur, beauty: a night at the opera

By far and away my favourite occasion as a child was a visit to the Alexandria Opera House to watch a ballet performed by a visiting company like the Bolshoi or […]

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata: a signature song in my new novel, Concerto

‘You know my faithfulness to you, never can another own my heart, never – never!’ So reads one of the epigraphs for my new novel, Concerto. These are the words […]

Rewarding readers – here, there, everywhere!

It is an indisputable fact that reading is good for us. Reading builds understanding and empathy – ‘We read to know we’re not alone’ (William Nicholson). Reading even makes us […]

Lake Como: a ‘spot blessed by heaven’

At the heart of my latest novel, Concerto, is a great composer, Umberto Monteverdi. At least, Umberto was a great composer, until he lost his sight in a terrible accident. […]

Art inspiring art: why writers are drawn to art, and artists to literature

Here is my idea of a heavenly afternoon: spending time at an art gallery. I walk about and take in the body of works. I read the information presented beside […]

Clara Schumann – a heroine for the modern woman

This year marks 200 years since the birth of one the greatest women of musical history, Clara Schumann. I write about Clara in my forthcoming book, Concerto, with reference to […]