Overview

A whip-smart observation of the passions and tragedies behind daily life, Eva Ibbotson's Madensky Square is a classic snapshot of Viennese life before WWI. Susanna Weber's dress shop stands in the picturesque Madensky Square, a quiet little world of its own, nestled in the heart of glittering pre-war Vienna. As the winter of 1910 unfurls into spring, Susanna starts a journal about life in the Square, about the buildings and their colourful inhabitants. There's Frau Schumacher, with six daughters and a baby on the way, Professor Starsky and his menagerie of sickly reptiles, an aging bookseller, a teenaged Anarchist, and little Sigi - an orphaned child prodigy forced to play the piano all day, every day. And then there's her dear friend Alice, the only person who has noticed the heartbreak that hides beneath Susanna's brisk kindness and brilliant talent . . . Discover more of Eva Ibbotson's sweeping historical romances in Magic Flutes, The Morning Gift, The Secret Countess, A Song for Summer and A Company of Swans

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9781035047147

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Reviews

Discovering Eva Ibbotson’s books is one of the nicest things that’s ever happened to me. The most beautiful, delicious, wry read -- Marian Keyes Sunshine and shadows, laughter and tears . . . the grace and gaiety of a Viennese waltz * Sunday Telegraph * [Ibbotson] provides not only charm, but intelligent prose and a character with finely tuned sensibilities * Kirkus * Her books are utterly delightful * Daily Mail *

Discovering Eva Ibbotson’s books is one of the nicest things that’s ever happened to me. The most beautiful, delicious, wry read -- Marian Keyes Sunshine and shadows, laughter and tears . . . the grace and gaiety of a Viennese waltz * Sunday Telegraph * [Ibbotson] provides not only charm, but intelligent prose and a character with finely tuned sensibilities * Kirkus * Her books are utterly delightful * Daily Mail *

Author Information

Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna in 1925 and moved to England with her father when the Nazis came into power. Ibbotson wrote more than twenty books for children and young adults, many of which garnered nominations for major awards for children's literature in the UK, including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Whitbread Prize. Eva's critically acclaimed Journey to the River Sea won the Smarties Gold Medal in 2001. Set in the Amazon, it was written in honour of her deceased husband Alan, a former naturalist. Imaginative and humorous, Eva's books often convey her love of nature, in particular the Austrian countryside, which is evident in works such as The Star Of Kazan and A Song For Summer. Eva passed away at her home in Newcastle on October 20th 2010. Her final book, One Dog and His Boy, was published in May 2011.

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