Used book – MELODY OF VIENNA, Ernst Lothar

Vienna, 1888. At 10 Seilerstätte stands a luxurious building, erected a hundred years earlier by the founder of the Alt dynasty, famous piano makers, on whose instruments Mozart himself played. Although without noble titles, the Alts adhered to the unwritten rules imposed on Viennese high society. Rules challenged by the arrival in the family of Henriette Stein who, though baptized, was nonetheless of Jewish origin, and, equally disturbing in the eyes of the Alts, determined to enjoy life without being constrained. In the years leading up to the First World War, Vienna was carried by a whirlwind of parties and creativity. But the cracks in the Austro-Hungarian dream, the questioning of ethnic diversity, and the rise of social demands were already perceptible. In this dissonant concert, everyone plays their part. Franz, Henriette's husband, who runs the family business, is confronted by the labor movement; Otto, a severe prosecutor, clings to conventions; while the beautiful Henriette shocks with her extramarital affairs…