About the book

Will Deverill and Florian Wood arrive in the Tyrol with very different ways of seeing it. Florian searches for the picturesque country of his imagination; Will notices the actual people and the labor behind the scenery. Their acquaintance with Linnet, whose voice attracts the determined interest of innkeeper Andreas Hausberger, turns this contrast into something more consequential than a traveler's disagreement. Her talent promises a future beyond the village, but other people's plans for that future may conflict with her affections and independence. Grant Allen combines romance with satire of aesthetic pretension and scrutiny of the conventions surrounding marriage. As the story moves between Alpine life and public performance, the central question becomes who is entitled to decide what Linnet owes to those who promote or love her.

Art and independence
Marriage and authority
Romantic ideals and reality

Why read it

Florian's comic misunderstandings sharpen the novel's more serious concern with treating a talented woman as a person rather than an ideal.

English text

Contents and reading sections

About the book

Why read it

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