The story of a remarkable singing family and of its devotion to an ideal. This is the adventurous story of one of the most distinguished musical families of the age, the Trapp Family Singers. It is told by one who knows it best, the head of the family, Baroness Maria Augusta von Trapp herself - now Mrs. Trapp, for she and her family have become American citizens. The story begins in Austria after the First World War, in which the baron distinguished himself as a submarine commander. A widower, he had five daughters, two ...
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The story of a remarkable singing family and of its devotion to an ideal. This is the adventurous story of one of the most distinguished musical families of the age, the Trapp Family Singers. It is told by one who knows it best, the head of the family, Baroness Maria Augusta von Trapp herself - now Mrs. Trapp, for she and her family have become American citizens. The story begins in Austria after the First World War, in which the baron distinguished himself as a submarine commander. A widower, he had five daughters, two sons, and no one to look after them; and from a neighboring convent he obtained as governess, a young student - Maria. The Baron was expected to marry a certain Princess Yvonne, but so impressed was he with Maria that he proposed to her instead, and they were married. In the dark days of the failure of the Austrian banks which inaugeated the world wide depression, the Baron lost most of his fortune. At that time they met Father Wasner, who has been their musical director ever since, and they started doing professionally, and with amazing success, what they had done previously for their own amusement. The book has much in it of the complexities of life of a large family, the arduous discipline of musical training, the amusing incidents of travel en masse. But The Story of the Trapp Family Singers is more than a dramatic personal story. It is specifically an American one, since it tells of a transportation from the Old World to the New.
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I first read this book as a senior in high school and enjoyed it so much. I found it inspiring and so real that when the film, The Sound of Music, came out, I was delighted to see a whole new generation discovering this wonderful family for themselves. The book holds out to all the beautiful ideals of family life, love, loyalty. This past Christmas I gave it as a little 'extra gift,' to a favorite relative, as his all-time favorite film is The Sound of Music.
Dormouse
Apr 25, 2007
The ultimate behind-the-scenes account
This is by far the most interesting account of the Trapp Family and the story behind The Sound of Music I have ever read. The text takes the reader through Baroness Maria's whole life, not just the romance with the Captain and escape from the Nazis. This account has plenty of humor, and is full of those juicy details we all want to know about. She discusses the emotions during times of indecision, trial, and joy. This is a great book for those who are tired of wicked stepmother stories. The author goes into great detail about her religious beliefs. Modern readers have a lot to learn from the thriftiness and work ethic of this intrepid family. My favorite bits were the amazing views of ordinary America through the eyes of an immigrant. The Maria in real life is every bit as spunky as the fictional one. This book is well worth the price of admission.
