Opera and child bearing - how could they have anything in common? A
first novel (published, of course) ought to have more errors in it than
this delightful tale has! Based on diaries and stories about the
author's ancestor, the tale is smoothly written, full of fascinating
characters and unusual settings, emotionally satisfying, historically
compelling, with arcane facts that will keep you interested if the love
and compulsion don't. The diva in question, Erika von Kessler, married
to a wealthy Bostonian who is obsessed with making her pregnant (to the
point where he checks her underwear!), visits Dr. Ravell, who has
developed a reputation for success with barren women (at this point -
1902 - nobody thinks a man could possibly be the problem). The
story twists and turns, children die and are born, people go to Europe
and Caribbean islands and South America, Erika's marriage tottters...and
her career? You'll enjoy finding out what happens. This is a 5.
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