Mary Ann and Miss Mozart (12 page)
Read Mary Ann and Miss Mozart Online
Authors: Ann Turnbull
Author’s note
Mary Ann’s story will take you back to 1764 – a time when Chelsea was a village on the outskirts of London. At that date No. 6, Chelsea Walk, was closer to the river because the Embankment had not yet been built.
Visitors were drawn to Chelsea by the popularity of Ranelagh Gardens. The concert in this story really did take place, and the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the performers. In 1764 Mozart and his sister Nannerl were performing regularly together in London. I can find no proof that Nannerl was also at Ranelagh that day, but as the two children usually appeared together it seems likely that she was. Their father promoted his children as prodigies and in his advertisements he actually knocked a year off each child’s age to make them seem even more amazing. In this story they are given their real ages. Nannerl Mozart was a brilliant musician who was gradually overshadowed by the genius of her younger brother.
The songs Mary Ann sings were all popular at the time, and are still sung. I used to sing some of them in my school choir in the 1950s!
I hope you will enjoy reading this story and meeting another of the girls who have lived in the Historical House.
About the author
Ann Turnbull knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer. After working as a secretary for many years, Ann returned to studying and started to train as a teacher. It was then that she rediscovered children’s literature and began writing for children herself. Her first novel was published in 1974 and she is now a full-time author. She has written more than thirty books for children and young adults, including
Pigeon Summer
, which was shortlisted for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, and
No Shame, No Fear
, shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction prize and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award.
Ann lives with her husband in Shropshire.
To find out more about Ann Turnbull, you can visit her website:
www.annturnbull.com
Usborne Quicklinks
For links to interesting websites where you can listen to music from Mary Ann’s time, find out more about Nannerl Mozart and visit Ranelagh Gardens, go to the Usborne Quicklinks website at
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Collect
The Historical House
series
Mary Ann & Miss Mozart
1764
Ann Turnbull
Mary Ann’s greatest wish is to become an opera singer, but when she is told she must leave her Boarding School for Young Ladies, her singing dreams are shattered. Distraught, she comes up with a plan to stay at school, oblivious to the danger it will put her in…
Lizzie’s Wish
1857
Adèle Geras
When Lizzie’s stepfather sends her to stay with relatives in London, Lizzie struggles to adapt to her new life of stiff manners and formal pastimes. She lives for the daily letters from her mother, but when the letters suddenly stop, Lizzie sets out to discover the truth and finds herself on a rescue mission.
Cecily’s Portrait
1895
Adèle Geras
Cecily is enchanted when she meets Rosalind, a photographer, who seems to be the perfect match for Cecily’s lonely widowed father. But her father’s friend, the dull and dowdy Miss Braithwaite, keeps spoiling her plans to unite the pair. Will Cecily’s dreams ever come true?
Polly’s March
1914
Linda Newbery
When Polly discovers her new neighbours are suffragettes, fighting for women’s right to vote, she is determined to join their protest march. But her parents are scandalized. Will she dare to defy them and do what she thinks is right?
Josie Under Fire
1941
Ann Turnbull
When Josie goes to stay with her cousin, Edith, she tries to fit in by joining Edith and her friends in teasing a timid classmate. But when the bullying gets out of hand, Josie faces a dilemma: she knows what it feels like to be picked on, but if she takes a stand, will Edith tell everyone her secret?
Andie’s Moon
1969
Linda Newbery
Andie dreams of becoming an artist and loves living in Chelsea, with the fashion, music and art galleries along the trendy King’s Road. There’s even a real artist living in the flat downstairs. Could Andie’s paintings, inspired by the excitement of the first-ever moon landing, be good enough to win his approval?
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This ebook edition first published in 2015 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England.
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Copyright © Ann Turnbull, 2007
The right of Ann Turnbull to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Inside illustrations by Ian McNee.
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This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ePub ISBN 9781409590897
Batch no. 00987-04