Review: "The First Violin" by Jessie Fothergill
The First Violin may be downloaded for free from our ebook catalog.
First published in 1877, The First Violin is told in first-person from two points of view. It begins with May Wedderburn living a quiet existence in a small town in England. Her quiet is disrupted when she attracts the attentions of the local wealthy landowner, Sir Peter. May has no interest in Sir Peter's offer of marriage and is even afraid of him. There are dark rumors about his last marriage and the circumstances surrounding his wife's demise (Jane Eyre anyone?). Enter the town recluse and sister of Sir Peter's late wife who offers to whisk May away to Germany where music and excitement await her immediately upon arrival.
The synopsis above is the first couple of chapters, and from there it is hard to stop reading. The story is part mystery, part romance, and part opera. May does indeed encounter the excitement she craves, and she also experiences a great musical awakening in the land of Bach and Schumann.
Since it was the purpose of this site to dig up works from decades or even centuries ago that deserve a wider audience today, it was such a joy to find this book (recommended by a site visitor). The only slight disappointment for me came at the end where author Fothergill takes advantage of a few unbelievable coincidences. Also, if you are not prepared for the first-person narration to start switching around the middle of the book, it may be confusing. Otherwise The First Violin is a perfect novel, one that has stayed with me since I read it, and one I will be revisiting many times in the future. Brushing up on one's classical composers before reading will no doubt heighten the enjoyment of this excellent story.
Discussion
Reply to Nancy Baiter
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Thank you so much for picking up this book! I was delighted to read your good review of it. Makes me want to go read it again.
Thank YOU for recommending it, Alisha! Do you have any other recommendations hidden up your sleeve?
I've been trying to think of other similar old books that might be in the public domain, but you seem to have covered most of my favorites. I did really enjoy Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter, a sweet, simple, heartfelt story...but that's not terribly obscure. If I do come up with any more oldies but goodies I will leave a comment.
And, yes, the first thing I did after reading The First Violin was to look up the music of Joachim Raff and find out about that piece "Lenore" that keeps showing up. Found an interesting website that talked about Fothergill's use of the piece. Also had to look up that work of Beethoven that they all played one afternoon in the music room.
I'm finally looking into Girl of the Limberlost--it looks very interesting! I'll put that on my Kindle and hopefully have it on the site soon. Thanks Alisha, and more recommendations are always welcome!
I'm just reading this, enjoying it immensely and found your site while googling for other enthusiasts of Victorian fiction. So, hoping that you haven't all discussed it to death, how about 'John Halifax, Gentleman'? An absolute cracker!
Hi Molly--I have wanted to publish more Fothergill but didn't know where to start. I will certainly check out John Halifax, Gentleman!
I have an early edition of this book (date obscured), from my grandmother's library. I know it is quite old, as I am a grandmother myself, so I've been trying to 'date' it. Happy to find some information regarding it.
First published in 1877. I also have early edition but with no publication date. Mine still has the advertisements in the back.
I am near the end of the and have found reading on a web-capable device a real benefit: I keep Google Translate open. I don't even try to make sense of the German chapter headings but when a character says something almost certainly meaning "I'm really going to be late" I'd still like to know the exact translation.
Of course, being in the public domain, anyone could publish a version with translations as footnotes. And on-line, even with sound files for the music used as chapter headings! Anyone volunteer? 🙂
Nancy, that sounds like a great idea! I did feel a little lost with all the talk about classical music that I'm not familiar with. Footnotes and sound files would be a wonderful addition. If someone can find some public domain sound files to insert into the ebook, I would play around with formatting it. And we'd need someone fluent in German to make sure our translations make sense.
Who will be paying for the Rights to use these music recordings?
If the recordings are public domain, then we don't have to pay. The trick would be finding a public domain recording.
Hi! I picked up this book at an antique market and I think it may be a first edition. How do I find out? There is no published date on it.
Hi Renee, who is the publisher on your edition? I found this on Google Books, the 1877 edition, it says the publisher is W.L. Allison: http://books.google.com/books?id=_csSuAAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:OXFORD600056119&lr=&rview=1
Also, here's an entry on AbeBooks about a first edition, looks confusing! http://www.abebooks.com/FIRST-VIOLIN-Fothergill-Jessie-London-Richard/5208956473/bd