Fantastic, fascinating and illuminating. I love Mozart's music and have done since introduced to it as a child through the film Amadeus which although a wonderful film it is largely a work of fiction, but here in this beautifully written biography is the real story which is just as interesting. Read it!

This can only be described as a fascinating insight into the life of Mozart. It punctures the poetry that surrounds his life. No longer is he a starving misunderstood artist condemned to a pauper's grave, the image that replaces him is no less striking but much more credible, prosaic even. The cautionary tale about the misunderstood genius instead becomes a story about the dangers of contracting vs. salaried work. Mozart did very, very well, right up until the end. He made a series of bad decisions on financial commitments and then his income dried up after the onset of war, people had less cash to splash around. Had he been salaried, he would have weathered the storm more than likely.