"An ideal 'first book' on Beethoven" from one of the world's most eminent classical music aficionados ( Booklist).Beethoven scholar and classical radio host John Suchet has had a lifelong, ardent interest in the man and his music. Here, in his first full-length biography, Suchet illuminates the composer's difficult childhood, his struggle to maintain friendships and romances, his ungovernable temper, his obsessive efforts to control his nephew's life, and ...

A PRESTO BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 ' From palaces to warzones, John Suchet goes on a Beethoven odyssey' The Daily Telegraph From the bestselling author of Beethoven: The Man Revealed, In Search of Beethoven is John Suchet' s latest and most personal book dedicated to the life of this extraordinary composer. Part biography, part memoir, part travelogue, Suchet draws on his own life and career as a foreign correspondent and news anchor to show how Beethoven' s music has accompanied him through t...

Earlier this year John Suchet revealed that his beautiful 67-year-old wife Bonnie, the love of his life, is suffering from Dementia. During the past three years he has gone from lover to carer. And he has found that exceptionally tough. In this moving, and bitterly honest account, the newsreader reveals his loneliness and his despair.For John it was love at first sight. For many years he had admired Bonnie from afar, hoping and dreaming one day she would feel the same way. Nearly a...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most successful composers that Russia has ever produced, but his path to success was not an easy one.A shy, emotional child, intended for the civil service by his father, Tchaikovsky came late to composing as a career, and despite his success he was a troubled character. Doubting himself at every turn, he was keenly wounded by criticism. The death of his mother haunted him all his life and his incessant attempts to suppress his homosexuality took a hu...

We think we know the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life. Austrian-born to a tyrannical father who worked him fiercely; unhappily married to a spendthrift woman; a child-like character ill at ease amid the aristocratic splendor of the Viennese court; a musical genius who died young thus depriving the world of future glories.Yet only that last point is actually true. In this comprehensive biography, John Suchet examines the many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the world's best-l...

Giuseppe Verdi remains the greatest operatic composer that Italy, the home of opera, has ever produced. Yet throughout his lifetime he claimed to detest composing and repeatedly rejected it. He was a landowner, a farmer, a politician and symbol of Italian independence; but his music tells a different story.An obsessive perfectionist, Verdi drove collaborators to despair but his works lauded from the start as dazzling feats of composition and characterization. From Rigoletto to Otello, La T...

A reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s timeless fairytale,Wild Swans weaves spoken word and music into a spellbinding journey of courage, sacrifice, and transformation.When a young princess learns her eleven brothers have been cursed and turned into swans, she undertakes a perilous quest to save them. Bound by a vow of silence, guided only by her heart, and tested by the cruelty of those who fear what they cannot understand.Read by John Suchet OBE, acclaimed jo...

his is a wonderful true story about one family's life as they grew up and grew old. It was filled with love, laughter, trials, and the challenges that life gives.The biggest challenge came when she found herself with both parents in various stages of dementia. At times she felt helpless, but also knew that it was up to her to attempt to fulfill their needs, wants and desires.Time moved on and her father passed away, leaving her with her mom to care for. What would she do? W...

The reader will be drawn irresistably into the world of the author who presents a catalogue of abuse and cruelty suffered by herself as an innocent child, first at the hands of her alcoholic father, then by nuns, and later by a heartless husband who raped and beat her. This is compulsive reading.The book shows how the shadow of a father's cruelty can be cast over the whole life of a child--a child who, in this instance, never failed to turn the other cheek, or return love for cruel...

Katie really cares about Justin, the cute two-year-old she baby-sits. But she cant help but notice the changes in him. Hes quieter now, and he sometimes calls himself a bad boy. Then Katie starts to notice bruises on Justin. She explains them awayuntil the day when she has to face the possibilities and make a very difficult decision. Who will believe what she suspects? What if shes wrong? Maybe she shouldnt say anything. But little Justin might be in real danger. And maybe Katie is the onl...

Kathy Wilson was a loving daughter and wanted to do the right thing when it became apparent that her mother wasn’t able to take care of herself any more. But getting her mom into assisted living became a nightmare--and that was just the beginning of her troubles.Tonya Thomas writes gripping stories about issues that affect women today. She lives in Newark, NY with her husband and two cats, Sasha and Simka.For more information and a list of other available titles, visit www....

This is the true story of Jimmy Cryans. A story of growing up in Glasgow's east end during the fifties and sixties and how he became involved in a life of crime. Jimmy speaks about the various characters he met and his dealings with some of Britain's major criminals. He reveals how petty theft and shoplifting quickly snowballed into armed robbery with raids on banks, jewelers and security vehicles. But Jimmy's story also explains his lifelong quest to find himself and how it eventually led...