Product Description

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 fairytale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way. But secret lives can be complicated. When a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage,Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7399619 in Books
• Published on: 1992-06
• Format: Large Print
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

About the Author
Eva Ibbotson lives in Newcastle upon Tyne and has four grown-up children. She has written ten other books for children, which have been translated into many languages. She has won several major awards for her work, and two major movies based on her books are currently in development.

Customer Reviews

Tiresomely good & gracious heroine
I hate to be the one dissenting voice but my problem with this novel is that the heroine is so very, very GOOD, it's unreal, even for a work of fiction. Every other character in the book was believeable as a "real" person, humanly flawed, yet the heroine is all shining goodness and light.

The heroine is born rich; a Princess of the royal Hapsburg court, no less, but, after undergoing a reversal of fortune, she's at the mercy of the real (post WWI) world. The previously fabulously wealthy, royally born heroine, who in reality would have suckled pride with her mother's milk, instead meekly allows people to treat her like a servant and talk down to her. When the Princess-heroine was letting herself be ordered around 24-7 by the members of the opera company; was living in poverty and was not allowed a day off; was missing meals without complaint... The story seemed to have no point other than portraying how creepily self-deprecating a woman could be. Blah. There's enough of that around in real life without its being celebrated in works of fiction.

OK, I'm being harsh. I know it's supposed to be the Cinderella story, but in the end, the heroine was just plain annoying. I guess I was not in the mood to be enchanted by an unbelieveable doormat of a heroine, even with a happy-ever-after tacked on.

A Charming Love Story Alive With Music and Beauty
This was the first Eva Ibbotson book I read and it made me a fan for life. It's a completely captivating love story filled with colorful details about opera, art, and royalty. It's also VERY funny, and I found myself repeatedly laughing at the comic antics of the opera company. I was perplexed when I read the one negative review--if the buyer wanted a "realistic" story, why did she buy a book of romantic fantasy? Yes, the heroine Tessa is a very good girl indeed, but I didn't find her unbelievable because of that. Cinderella was a good girl too, but we cheered when she got her Prince Charming. Magic Flutes is a Cinderella story for grown ups, as sweet as a piece of cake and just as much fun to devour. (written by Sandra Kelley)

A poignant, lovely story!
Ibbotson has a marvelous understanding of music, art, medicine, history, and science. I constantly want to look things up in the encyclopedia to see if she has her information correct - and she does! This is a cinderella story with a multitude of moments that touch the heart.