The dancing Mistress E-Book

Daniela Brotsack

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 488

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Around 1770: Victoria is a friend of Nannerl and Wolfgang Mozart and lives near Salzburg. She sees her calling as a dance mistress. But social conventions and her father do not allow this. The young woman has to overcome many obstacles and face numerous challenges in life before her wish comes true. Everywhere she goes, Victoria hears about women who are living their vocation and are held in high esteem by society. She gets to know some of them personally. This women encourage Victoria to go her own way.

Leseprobe

Life is too precious, to waste it on trivialities!

Foreword

With this book, you are holding a very special novel in your hands. Daniela Brotsack‘s story takes us back to the 18th century, when Wolfgang Mozart also lived in Salzburg. This novel will whet your appetite for culture! And along the way, the reader learns many interesting facts about the history of this period.

The author Daniela Brotsack has been a member of my dance group in Salzburg for many years, where we dance contra dances from Mozart‘s time and English country dances. Inspired by our experiences and adventures with dance, Daniela came up with the idea for this novel and so, as today‘s dance master, I have the honour of writing the foreword.

We have experienced many celebrations with dance and music together and Daniela authentically describes in her novel how dancing together connects us, makes us happy and has a strengthening effect. That‘s exactly how we experience it again and again.

Even though the book is called “The Dancing Mistress”, dance is not the main content. As I wrote in the first sentence: you are holding a special book in your hands.

Why? Because this novel can do something very special: It has the potential to spread a soothing atmosphere through reading.

It has a healing effect on the soul to experience in this novel how people in the circle around the main character and narrator treat each other with respect and dignity. How in every person, regardless of social status, it is above all being, goodwill and honesty that count. The protagonist champions these values with her own example and ingenious ideas, which she puts into practice, and takes the reader with her into her world.

Of course, it‘s not all sunshine and cheerfulness. The world that the author takes us into plays out all of life‘s pieces – from misfortune, suffering and sadness to joy, success and happiness.

The narrator Victoria and her family are characterised by how they deal with strokes of fate and events. People help each other, listen to each other, are there for each other and, strengthened in this way, get through crises together. Culture – particularly emphasised in the novel – music and dance also help. Daniela Brotsack lets her narrator listen to special gems of music or play them herself and describes them in such a way that you want to listen to every piece immediately.

And – how could it be otherwise – all these human values that make life so worth living and loving and that come to life in this novel are experienced by the author herself. Wherever possible, Daniela enriches her environment with ideas and initiatives in order to experience beautiful and thus invigorating things together.

Her two earlier novels are also characterised by these values. The first novel, “Mit dem Mut einer Löwin – der lange Weg nach Hause", is set in the Middle Ages, while the second, “Des Falken Treue” (both not yet available in English), like a sequel to the first, tells a story of our time.

I hope you enjoy reading the novel “The Dancing Mistress”.

Salzburg, in March 2021

Verena Brunner Female dance master of today

Table of Content

Briefly explained

January 1774

A look back

Childhood

Growing up

1771

The ball and its consequences

Between the chairs

Personal initiative

1772

Change

Hooray, a female friend

The art of hunting with falcons

Everyday life moves in

Summer joy

A gift

Deer hunting

Dancing lesson

Concert outing

The ball season

The pig chase

Farewell

1773

Life goes on

Memorial dance

Barn dance

A divine finalisation

The first time at home

And now what?

A visit to Salzburg

Travelling

Bayreuth

Erlangen

Furthermore on the road

Paris in August

La Reine de la danse

Social gossip

On stage

Go on, go on

Autumn in Wien

Back home again

1774

Development in America

Tea dansant

Tea Party again

Anton Adner

Easter time

Literary Salon

A heavy blow

Businesses in women‘s hands

Happy turnaround

Friends like gold

Solstice dance

Dancing Playford

Dancing mistress

Ancient philosophers

A visitor

Hellbrunn Stone Theatre

Dining alfresco

The letter

Almer pilgrimage

At the Chiemsee

Coffee house

The bishop‘s ball

News

Magdalena

In remembrance of a witch

Visit to München

Frederik‘s ball

A new love affair

Homecoming Seraphia

Fallen girls

Casanova

Triebenbach Castle

Ball at the Mozarts

Kathrein stops the dancing

News from around the world

Winter pleasures

Epilogue

Afterword

Protagonists

Bibliography

Music directory

Maps

Acknowledgement

Briefly explained

Dear reader,

Sometime around 2007, I discovered my enthusiasm for medieval dances. Shortly before the 1st Paris Lodron Ball of the University of Salzburg in the rooms of the princearchbishop‘s residence in 2012, I got to know and love the dances from the Mozart era and have been a member of Verena Brunner‘s Salzburg dance group with members from up to seven decades ever since, rehearsing historical dances with a lot of fun and joy.

In earlier centuries, everyone danced right up to the highest kings. Unfortunately, that has changed. Nowadays, dancing is often seen as unmanly. And yet many women still consider a good dancer to be particularly attractive. To counteract the widespread laziness to dance, I wanted to write about a female dancing master to inspire others to dance.

After the first forty or so pages of my manuscript, my writing flow came to a standstill. When I started working again, some of my protagonists developed a life of their own. They didn‘t want to accept the life I had planned for them and wouldn‘t leave me alone until I had rewritten everything. However, this also meant that the time frame of my story had to change.

Since a woman in the 18th century could hardly fulfil such a profession as dancing master on her own, I felt compelled to provide my protagonist with a brother who shares her enthusiasm for dancing.

Although I certainly didn‘t want to write a romance novel (yet again), I was confronted with the problem that a single woman at this certain time wasn‘t considered anything in the eyes of society, which is why my dancing master wasn‘t allowed to remain unmarried – and so love is involved.

I hope I have managed the balancing act between historical facts and an easy-to-read story with likeable people, so that my readers are also fascinated by those women who went their own way against all odds in earlier times and were quite successful.

Despite the numerous historically documented persons and facts, I would like to point out that my story is a novel in which there are also many fictional dialogues and scenes. I did not set out to reproduce every detail with historical accuracy and took the liberty of allowing my protagonists to act against some of the conventions of the time. After all, who knows whether there weren‘t people and ideas at the time described that were similar to the ones I had imagined?

A word about the cover: at the time described, fans were a very common accessory. Because the ladies wore corsets and often countless layers of fabric, a fan was at least a small help to prevent fainting in stuffy air. I thought that a dancing master‘s very personal fan could display the insignia of her art together with some drawings of dance figures. Some dance masters advertised the mastery of the following skills as a prerequisite for their profession: dancing, riding, fencing and playing the pochette (pocket fiddle).

I gave the friends of my protagonist Victoria the names of noble families from Bavaria who were long extinct at the time.

As the story is set in Deutschland (Germany) and present-day Österreich (Austria), the German names are given in the original German spelling. The English spelling can be found in the footnotes

I hope you enjoy the dancing mistress and her adventures!

Yours Daniela Brotsack

”Everyone wants to have an intelligent wife, but they don‘t want to give them the means of understanding.”

Dorothea Christiane Erxleben, doctor and pioneer of women‘s studies (1715–1762)

January 1774

It was cold and we had a respectable amount of snow. Archbishop Colloredo sent us an invitation to a sleigh ride from the Domplatz (cathedral square) to Schloss Hellbrunn, followed by a masked ball in the residence. The date was set for the next full moon on the 27th of the month, a Friday. My mamma was to entertain the prince‘s guests with her music at a small reception at Schloss Hellbrunn. For this reason, our family was given the special privilege of being invited to the “Schlittade”1 itself and no one who could stand on their feet would turn down such an invitation.

Pappa broached the subject in the evening: “We have two sledges and trained horses that are suitable for a ride like this. That means there‘s room for all of us. Of course, I‘ll be driving the sleigh with your mamma myself. You will steer the second one with Victoria, Christoph.”

Mamma now took the floor. “At the same time as the Monarch‘s invitation, we received another invitation from your Uncle Josef and Aunt Maria, offering us the opportunity to stay with them in Salzburg for the days around the Schlittade. Through the Monarch‘s secretary, of course, they know that we will be there. Isn‘t that marvellous?”

Father nodded in agreement. “Your brother Josef and his wife Maria are lovely people who I would like to see again.

I‘m really looking forward to this evening. Please promise me to prepare yourselves so that nobody gets tired and inattentive. That could be dangerous with the sledges, especially in the dark. Oh yes, and to make sure my children both have fun, we‘ll mix up the pairs on the way into town. Christoph, you go with your mamma and I‘ll put myself in my daughter‘s capable hands and let her take the reins.”

I hugged my clever father with the soft heart. He wouldn‘t regret his decision.

Christoph and I took care of the preparations in the stable and shed. First we inspected the sledges again. One looked like a wolf and the other like a feisty eagle. Both were in good condition and just needed a little cleaning. We touched up the paint here and there.

They were two really comfortable sledges that came from my father‘s parents. Both of them had a space under the seat where you could stow a hot brick to keep the person sitting nice and warm on their backside. And both had a screwedon frame on the runners where the coachman stood, which was about knee-high and bent backwards at the bottom. The driver stood on it and it protected him and his legs from snow and wetness from the front, which was a great relief and not standard. In addition, both vehicles had a lantern in the centre front to illuminate the path directly in front of the horse, as well as holders for torches.

For the seats, there were beanbags sewn from bearskins, fur on the inside and leather on the outside. This protected the sitter‘s legs and abdomen from wind and weather.

Mamma and I had a lot of fun with the rest of the preparations. We were looking forward to this trip like children and packed clothes for two days and nights, but also thought of enough torches for the sledges.

A few days later, on the day before the spectacle, we set off on both sledges towards Salzburg under slightly overcast skies.

I was wearing winter trousers and thick boots and a simple skirt that I could button up left and right. The top layer was a long coat. When I stood behind the sledge, you couldn‘t see anything that might cause offence.

We gave the horses free rein on a long straight and they chased along so fast it was a joy. The little bells on the sledges and the horses‘ harnesses accompanied every movement and everyone in front of us heard us coming and made way for us with a hello.

When Pappa turned round to me from time to time, he looked very happy. I hadn‘t seen him this cheerful for a long time. I‘d always had the feeling that something was bothering him recently. But he didn‘t talk about it.

Every now and then I would hear my mamma yowl or the loud crack of my brother‘s whip, which spurred his horse on even more. However, the encouragement wasn‘t particularly necessary, as our animals were dashing forwards out of sheer joie de vivre and none of them was better than the other.

When we arrived at Uncle Josef and Aunt Maria‘s house in the centre of the city, right on the banks of the Salzach, between the Mozarts‘ flat and the residence, the horses were reasonably dry again and we were looking forward to a warm room. My uncle‘s gorsoon and another servant would look after our horses and the sleighs. A stable that also rented out boxes was just round the corner and as the sleighs weren‘t very big, our relatives would have a suitable place to keep them.

“Welcome, my dears!” Maria embraced each of us with a warmth that was almost unbearable. Uncle Josef stood somewhat awkwardly next to her and offered his hand to everyone with a broad grin. His handshake was legendary and I wrested my right hand from him as quickly as possible so as not to get hurt. I was delighted to see them both in such good health.

“Dionys, how happy I am to see you with such a cheerful gleam in your eyes and a healthy complexion!” Josef gave his brother-in-law a well-meaning pat on the shoulder.

“I was able to enjoy the journey here to the full. I had a really cosy ride because my daughter drove me to the city limits. Thank you for the invitation.” My father was in a great mood.

“Now come in at last, settle down and hurry into the warm parlour. We have a small evening party tonight with a light dinner among good friends. Oh yes, the Mozarts are coming too. So after a nice hot cup of mocha, I suggest you get some rest.”

My aunt changed the subject to the latest gossip about who had got engaged and which dances they had already attended or would be attending this carnival season. Uncle Josef also knew all the latest news and rumours.

Of course, there was not only mocha, but also excellent pastries. Among other things, the cook had made a Linzer Torte, which my brother particularly enjoyed. I guess the cook wanted to ingratiate herself again because Christoph knows how to give nice compliments.

Although I didn‘t feel tired, I went to the room provided for me and lay down. After reading two pages in the book from my relatives‘ library, my eyes fell shut. My aunt‘s maid woke me up at the right time and teased me that I looked a bit sleepy. The cheeky young thing always makes me laugh.

The evening event was supposed to be completely informal. In other words, I put on an evening gown, of course, but not my best ball gown. I had Wolferl2 Mozart as my table host. “Greetings, noble Countess von Falkenstein. You look lovely again. Before anyone else beats me to it, I‘ll ask for the first dance.”

“Thank you for the compliment, genius Mozart. Of course I‘ll dance the first dance with you. It‘s a pleasure. Because of your travels to Italy and Wien3 and my trip last year, we haven‘t seen each other for so long that I almost didn‘t recognise you.”

Of course, this was an exaggeration. I would have recognised my old friend anytime and anywhere. But as he was also not always telling the truth, that was fine. Wolferl knew a lot to tell about his travels and, as always, he made jokes that made me laugh heartily.

“Don‘t tell me I‘m still growing.” He sat up very straight and pushed his chest forward until I laughed.

“Now that you mention it, you‘ve grown up!” I ducked away from him and he gave me a peck on the arm and laughed out loud.

People chatted between courses and a wide variety of topics came up. An elderly lady, whose name I simply can‘t remember, asked the group: “Which of the ladies has actually read The History of Lady Sophia Sternheim by that writer in Koblenz, Sophie von La Roche? It‘s quoted everywhere.”

My aunt eagerly took the floor. “Of course I had to read that. Did you know that La Roche originally came from Kaufbeuren? She was born Gutermann zu Gutershofen, so she is a distant relative of mine.”

“Oh, that‘s very interesting. Then somehow you have family ties with Christoph Wieland, the poet. How exciting!” came back from the lady immediately. “As far as I know, he‘s a cousin of La Roche.”

Mrs Mozart also shared her knowledge. “They‘re both very talented, anyway. I‘ve read La Roche‘s Sternheim and also a few things by Wieland. His Lady Johanna Gray in particular really touched my heart, even though I‘m Catholic through and through.” She put her hands over her breasts and looked upwards. Wolfgang started to giggle and I couldn‘t hold back any longer. Especially when she realised and winked at us conspiratorially while exaggerating the gesture even further.

As already announced, after the meal there was dancing in the Tanzmeistersaal4, which belonged to the flat and also had a separate entrance. There were plenty of musicians in the room who were itching to dance. Among them were my mother and Wolfgang's father, who played a duet with their violins with an undetermined outcome. It was marvellous to see them both in their element. Leopold Mozart is otherwise a very rational and rather serious person. But the music makes even him shine.

“So, here comes an Anglaise5!” My friend Nannerl Mozart sat down at the pianoforte and tapped the keys like a dervish. The rest of us danced to the cheerful and sometimes almost too fast melodies with great joy. Completely exhilarated, I briefly opened a window during a break in the dancing. Immediately there were shouts from all sides that I should close it again immediately before people died. Why is everyone always so sensitive? I must almost be dying of heat because the others start shivering at the first draught. That happened to me again and again.

I fell into bed in the early hours of the morning, dog-tired but happy. It had been an evening when I had felt completely at ease. However, it had been far too hot and I had a headache.

It wasn‘t until late morning that I got up again, reasonably well-rested, and got dressed. I skipped breakfast as there would be a snack at lunchtime. My first stop was at my brother‘s to check on our horses with him. After all, they had to look their best today and be fit for the ride. In return for a small gift of money, the stable lads at the livery stable were overflowing with kindness and wanted to take extra good care of our horses and spruce them up.

Shortly after midday, the horses were harnessed and our small group set off for the nearby cathedral square. There were already many different sledges.

“Look, Vic, there‘s a bear over there.”

“Yes, and there‘s even a dragon over here. I like its green colour. It looks so poisonous.”

“And there, another dark lindworm. What a difference to the radiant, shimmering gold dragon behind!”

Mamma called over and drew our attention to a sledge with a beautifully carved wolf.

We marvelled at the wide variety of sledges, some of which were real works of carving art. Other ornaments seemed to me to be rather skilfully made from papiermâché. Together with the beautifully gleaming horses and the people elegantly dressed in furs, it was a real feast for the eyes. Countless bells rang out their delicate sound, you could hear joking shouts, horses neighing and dogs barking. A joyful, excited atmosphere prevailed in the square. People came from all corners and streets to see what was going on.

And then the sleigh with the archbishop came out of the courtyard of the residence next to the cathedral.

It was adorned with a white stag with a cross between its antlers6. In other words, the animal from the legend of St Hubert.

His coachman, a tall man, drove to the front of the procession and off we trotted towards the town. Outside, in the open field, the pace was then briefly increased a little and I felt wonderful because I was allowed to be part of this spectacle.

The colourful procession, initially accompanied by many onlookers, made a large loop across the snow-covered fields towards Hellbrunn. Obviously the route had already been prepared in advance. Presumably to ensure safety, as you can‘t see holes and small ditches in the snow. I also spotted a lot of animal tracks.

The snow meant that nature had also become superficially quiet in the city, but there were still the constant sounds of craftsmen, shouts, horse-drawn carriages and much more.

All I could hear here was the gentle tinkling of bells, the snorting of horses and the cheerful laughter of people. My heart soared and I felt really happy.

When we arrived at the castle, it was still light and everything looked like something out of a fairy tale. Many servants had been specially deployed to look after the horses. The guests of the Schlittade were invited to attend a small reception in the castle‘s Carabinieri Hall. Champagne and snacks were served. Then our mamma played a chamber music concert with some excellent musicians for about three quarters of an hour. It was marvellous.

I had a seat next to a window during the performance. Everything around the castle looked spectacular as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains. And shortly afterwards, the sky seemed to glow. It was a marvellous sunset that I was able to watch and was incredibly impactful, especially with the beautiful music.

Back outside, the torches were lit. Of course, there were again guests who had not made any arrangements in this direction and who were dependent on the archbishop‘s servants to provide torches for their vehicles. Well, perhaps they had reckoned on that too and saved themselves some money. But we had made provisions for everything and so the horseboy was not forced to provide us with any further services.

I was about to snuggle into the leather sack on the eagle sledge when Pappa held my arm. “Victoria, I know that you have better eyesight at night and that you are also the better sledge driver of the two of us. So I‘d be happy to put myself in your capable hands as far as the city limits and be content as a passenger.”

I was surprised and delighted at the same time. So I helped my father to find a comfortable sitting position, gathered up my skirts, under which I was wearing trousers anyway in the cold, and prepared to set off. The servant who was holding our carriage looked astonished and indignant when he noticed the change. He was no doubt of the opinion that what had never been should not be. I gave him my friendliest smile and was rewarded by the fact that he no longer looked so grumpy.

Then I took off the blanket that had covered the sweating horse and stowed it on the sledge. I then took my place on the runners and looked over at my brother challengingly.

He laughed happily and my mother looked at me with a satisfied expression on her face. Just a few minutes later, the archbishop‘s sleigh set off back towards the town. The full moon shone on the landscape and covered everything in a silvery glow.

“You‘ll see that not everyone will arrive in the city in one piece. Some of the gentlemen here have looked very deeply into the champagne glass. Wait and see, we can foresee an incident.” Christoph played Cassandra again. He would not be disappointed.

Not long after setting off, the first accident occurred. One of the guests didn‘t have his horse under control. It broke loose and ran straight to a ditch. It jumped over it and arrived safely on the other side. But the sleigh landed in the ditch along with the lady and the powerless coachman. Fortunately there was no water in the ditch, but it was boggy and the sleigh had obviously been damaged. As there were enough helping hands at work, in no time at all, we drove on and enjoyed our adventure.

“Look how beautiful the landscape is!” Mamma called out to us, pointing enthusiastically at the silhouette of the city.

From a distance, it looked as if we were gliding towards a city that was not of this world. On the Festung7, which otherwise towers in darkness, fires could be seen blazing and fireworks were being set off on the Gaisberg8. It was like being in a pleasant dream!

“How lucky we are to be able to live such a life. Not many are granted that. May it always stay that way so that we don‘t have to worry too much!” Pappa looked up at me encouragingly and I picked up the pace. It was as if Christoph‘s and my sledge were flying over the snow. I could literally feel the horses‘ joy on this outing and at that moment I loved our little community even more.

The return journey didn‘t take that long, as there was only one big “S”. When we had a closer look at the first houses, we could already see many people. My father told Christoph and me to stop and we changed positions again. Acting unconventionally is one thing, but presenting it to the public is another story.

There was more light in the city and my father felt safe again as a coachman. Besides, I had had my fun and knew that I couldn‘t insist on my role any longer to ensure that the rest of the evening went well. We arrived back at the residence the same way we had started in the afternoon and nobody would have anything to complain about.

“Dionysius, let‘s go quickly to Maria and Josef. Their lads can look after the horses and we still have time to change in peace.” Mamma was right, of course. Our relatives could also take us to the residence in one of the sedan chair services and the masked ball definitely required a change of clothes.

For my taste, it took far too long before we were all ready to set off again. Of course, we were still well on time, but I always get fidgety when so much time is wasted on useless activities. So I‘d been sitting in the library reading for ages when the signal to leave finally came.

Like many other women, I had read the letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, published in 1763, who was the wife of an ambassador in Constantinople. I had raved so much about it to Christoph that we both had father get us original Turkish clothes. Of course, we wouldn‘t be the first or the most original masks in Turkish style, but we would probably be among the most stylish, because they were original.

Christoph wore an undergarment with a rich floral pattern and a matching, typical şalvar, or harem trousers. Over this was a magnificent belt with semi-precious stones. The most important thing was a richly embroidered silk caftan and a matching white turban, just like the Turks themselves wear.

I also wore an underdress and a Şalvar, which was richly embroidered in the lower third. Then a gold-embroidered Turkish blouse and, on top of that, a magnificent entari with a train, as the overdress is called, which in my case was worn open from the waist down. This, I was told, was the dress of the palace ladies in Turkey.

We both wore pointed shoes made of soft leather that were specially made for dancing.

I had already had my hair braided into very thin plaits at the beginning of the day, which was not visible under my cap. I also wore a hat decorated with feathers and gemstones and an intricate veil.

I hadn‘t realised that father had also bought Turkish clothes for himself and mother and was surprised that they also looked like a sultan and his lady of the heart.

A short time later, we entered the residence, which was lit up with the help of probably thousands of candles. The high stucco walls – a glittering place that holds many memories for me.

Many guests had already gathered, some wearing unusual masks that showed a lot of imagination. Others, on the other hand, hadn‘t gone to much trouble with their costumes. They just wore a half-mask or a little hat with a veil combined with a normal evening gown.

The orchestra was already assembled and mamma was just whispering to my father which of the musicians she knew, when she stumbled and turned towards us. “Oh dear, I left my fan on Maria‘s chest of drawers. I won‘t make it through the evening without it!” Christoph made a little bow, waved his arms a little – and suddenly had mamma‘s fan in his hand.

“I was curious to see how long it would take for his loss to be noticed. When we left, he was lying alone on the piece of furniture and called out to me: ‚Take me with you‘, so I couldn‘t resist.”

“Have I ever told you that I couldn‘t wish for a better son? You are a wonderfully attentive person. Thank you so much, you saved my evening.” With that, she gave him an air kiss and took her fan.

It was still a pleasant temperature in the room, but with more people and the many candle flames, it would be scorching hot in a few hours.

The sound of fanfares drew the attention of all visitors of the ballroom. Of course, there were still whispers here and there. Some people just can‘t keep their mouths shut. But it became noticeably quieter and all attention turned to the entrance of the hall. There, the host appeared in a magnificent robe with a Venetian mask, while the orchestra played the Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from the oratorio Solomon by Georg Friedrich Händel9. What a performance!

Prince Archbishop Colloredo welcomed his guests and asked them to dance.

Immediately afterwards, the orchestra began to play the first dance that I had already promised my brother. It was a minuet10.

Afterwards, I danced with my uncle Josef, who knew how to make me laugh with funny remarks or short grimaces and gestures.

It was an Anglaise in the long alley. We stood in the first third and danced down. After a good twenty minutes, we reached the bottom and danced back up again.

The dance had lasted about an hour and we had met a lot of old acquaintances. We exchanged brief pleasantries with every couple we already knew – as far as the dance gave us the opportunity. We got ourselves all heated up and went for some of the punch that was by the refreshments. It was very good, but also to be enjoyed with caution. I realised the effects of the alcohol very quickly and held back from then on.

Then, we continued with a quadrille11. A friend of my father‘s had asked me to do this dance, a good dancer and a consummate gentleman. I had adored him even as a small child. In my childish imagination, all men should be like him: Always friendly, well-mannered, nice to children and accomplished dancers. Mr Blumenau was also very well-read and had a refreshing wit. The dance went by far too quickly with him.

During a break from dancing, I found myself in a pleasant company where everyone had something to say. One of the gentlemen had an aunt in Berlin.

“That damn Preußenkönig Friedrich12! You can still remember his Tartoffel orders or whatever that stuff is called, can‘t you?”

Another gentleman spoke up: “You mean Erdäpfel; aren‘t they called Kartoffeln (potatoes) by the Preußen? Farmers were supposed to grow them because they were nutritious. That certainly made sense during the famine in Sachsen13 three years ago. But by force? There were the so-called tuber preachers who travelled the countryside and told people everywhere that they should grow the crop.”

I also knew something about the subject. “Many farmers didn‘t know what to do with the plant at first. They didn‘t realise for a long time that it was the tubers that were eatable and not the herb and flowers. This led to a number of deaths. Understandably, the farmers didn‘t want to know anything more about it.”

One lady said: “I heard that Friedrich once even had potato fields guarded as a ruse so that the farmers would think the plants were valuable. It seems to have worked. He‘s a real rascal! The farmers now supposedly have to grow the plants on a tenth of their arable land. I don‘t like that stuff. But it still did a good job during the famine.”

Finally, the first speaker continued, “It‘s all true. Well, as we all know, there‘s no accounting for taste. But now Friedrich gets down to the coffee. In Prussia, crazy Fritz imposed a luxury tax of 150 per cent on coffee! In Berlin, the beans cost many times more than from our Vic‘s father, from whom I always buy them – although we already pay a lot more here in the south than in Hamburg due to the many different customs duties from the north down here.”

“Oh no, he‘s crazy! And why is that?” the lady wanted to know.

“Because he doesn‘t want the bourgeoisie and normal people to drink the brew. That‘s what my aunt told me in one of her letters. Recently, a large parcel sent to her was actually searched. As the inspectors found coffee14 in it that wasn‘t labelled, I had to pay a hefty fine. What‘s more, the coffee was confiscated!” the first speaker replied.

“I‘ve always been suspicious of the Prussians. I can‘t understand why anyone would still want to live in their territory.” The lady had her own opinion.

I stood next to them and could only marvel at the ideas some rulers came up with. But not for long, because my next dancer was already standing in front of me and wanted to accompany me to the dance floor.

It was an all-round harmonious celebration. The whole day was a special experience. For me, the Schlittade was the first time I had experienced something like this, although it is organised at many courts in Germany, for example in Dresden. But I had only ever heard of such events.

For me, this day was a very special experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The night-time drive, the people, the music, everything was just right and I felt really happy that day.

”We love in a young woman quite different things from intellect. We love in her the beautiful, the youthful, the teasing, the confiding, the character, her faults, her caprices, and God knows what other unspeakable things; but we do not love her intellect.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1824)

1 Schlittade comes from the word Schlitten, which is a sledge.

2 Wolferl is a Bavarian/Austrian loving short form of the name Wolfgang.

3 Vienna

4 Dancing master‘s hall, part of Mozart's apartment.

5 A dance in a long lane in which the first couple dances with every other couple in turn. When it reaches the bottom, it dances back to the starting point in the role of the other couple.

6 Such a sledge is not documented.

7 The achbishop‘s fortress obove the town, today known as Hohensalzburg

8 A small mountain (1287 m above sea level) next to Salzburg

9 George Frideric Handel

10 Courtly ballroom dance in 3/4 cadence.

11 Contra dance with 4 pairs

12 Prussian King Frederick thee great

13 Saxony

14 A few years later, on 21 January 1781, Frederick the Great hired out 400 veterans to act as “coffee sniffers”. From then on, it was forbidden to roast coffee yourself (so that the smuggled coffee could be found).

A look back

Childhood

I have now thrown my readers into the middle of my life and simply started to tell my story without explaining myself. I would now like to make up for this.

Let me start by saying that after some time away, I have been living again mainly with my family near Reichenhall15 in the south of Baiern16 since the end of 1773, where I grew up on a beautiful estate between the villages of Nonn and Karlstein.

I was baptised Victoria, but everyone just calls me Vic, because I was raised like a boy. The most important and precious person in my life is my twin brother Christoph. He is the only person who really knows me inside out – just like I know him. We know about each other‘s fears and dreams and understand each other without words.

Christoph and I have always been thick as thieves. We did almost everything together as children and even now we know that we can rely on each other. Together, we could and can take on any opponent – even our good-natured but very strict father.

Pappa had tried for a long time to raise us in a genderappropriate way, the way society demands. But nothing had worked. We both stood up to him and swore that we would rather not learn anything at all if we weren‘t taught together.

So he had to give in and give me the same education as my brother. It didn‘t hurt either of us and we had fun learning together. As we got older, my father appreciated us both equally. Christoph says that Pappa is very proud of his educated daughter – but he never openly expresses this in public. I don‘t think that‘s fair, but he‘s also just a child of his time and was brought up very conservatively.

Pappa is a merchant. He has many things shipped by sea to or from Hamburg, which is why he has an office there and is usually in the Hanseatic city during the summer months.

Our mother Regina is a highly educated and very progressive woman who also campaigns for the rights of the women working here in her home. She has always been in favour of good education and congratulated us on our brilliant fraternal strategy.

Mamma is an outstanding violinist. When she plays, the audience starts dreaming. At a young age, she played in the great royal houses of Europe and she is still a soughtafter soloist for concerts. However, because of father, who travels a lot himself, asking her to do so, she no longer travels so far and concentrates mainly on concerts that take place in the surrounding area. Or she plays in Hamburg when she accompanies Pappa on his business trips.

Mamma also plays the pianoforte quite well. She gave us children lessons on both instruments. She thought we both had the talent for it, but would probably never get as far as giving concerts due to a lack of hard work. I also learnt to play the flute – all my flutes were from the workshop of the family Walch in Berchtolsgaden17 – and Christoph practised the cello. There were many beautiful pieces that we were able to play together as a family.

In our society, it was more or less forbidden for women to play wind instruments or even the violoncello. The latter mainly for the reason that a man – at least some – unfortunately also has an imagination and his thoughts might go astray if he saw a woman playing this instrument.

The main offence was the protruding chest and the spread legs when playing a violoncello or the inflated cheeks when using a fanfare.

The bad thing is that men generally don‘t learn to control themselves and their urges. Even as children, they are allowed to do anything, and at anything obnoxious everybody only smiles at instead of criticising.

Women should remain as still as possible and never be loud. Even when playing the pianoforte, we must ensure that we only play soft melodies and do not become loud and demanding. Women must always look perfect. In my opinion, some women look even more enchanting with a flute on their lips than without. Fortunately, playing the flute is tolerated to some extent. At least a woman who plays the flute is not excluded from society.

Through my brother, I learnt everything that a young man of standing should be able to do: reading and writing in German, Latin, French and English as well as arithmetic from a very modern tutor. After some initial scepticism, because he had only ever taught boys, he was delighted with the progress we both made.

But he also really knew how to package the subject matter in such an interesting way that children really wanted to grasp it. Christoph and I are still grateful to him for that today.

There were also lessons in history and philosophy. We siblings loved these lessons. Christoph and I also had fencing and riding lessons. We practised fencing from horseback and did a lot of things that were not without danger. Fortunately, no mishaps occurred during our sometimes reckless adventures.

When we didn‘t have to study, we went swimming in Lake Thumsee in the summer and frolicked on the ice of The unnamed lake18 in the winter.

The lesson that gave us the most pleasure was the one with our beloved Aunt Seraphia. She is our mother‘s youngest sister and has been a gifted ballet dancer since her youth, having danced on the most famous stages, in front of the most important monarchs in Europe and even with the Russian Tsar. Seraphia studied at the Académie Royale de Danse in Paris, which was founded by King Louis XIV in 1661.

Despite her age, she has a radiant personality and is still as pretty as a picture. Seraphia looks much younger. She is still travelling the world a lot. She sees us twins as a substitute for her own non-existent children and taught us everything she has ever learnt in between her engagements. So we had a profound education in music and dance from an early age.

When she is not travelling, Aunt Seraphia lives with us on the estate in a cosy house by the western gate with her dancing partner and a cook and maid all in one. She has been putting money aside from the start, which she could use to afford a nice retirement.

During her time here, she and her partner Heinrich give dance lessons in better homes in the region. Christoph and I have often been able to accompany them to demonstrate the steps to the students and motivate their peers.

When Christoph and I were still children, we travelled with Aunt Seraphia to München19, Augsburg, Landshut, Regensburg and Passau for larger parties, as well as to castles in the region such as Hohensalzburg and Triebenbach, where our aunt danced at the special request of high society. We were often accompanied by Heinrich, who is an excellent violin and harpsichord player.

From an early age, Christoph and I were guests in Berchtolsgaden, at the Salzburg Residence and Triebenbach Castle, where we performed a very precisely rehearsed minuet, for example.

During a stay in Triebenbach in 1762, we also got to know Nannerl and Wolferl Mozart. Nannerl is the same age as us. The four of us enjoyed dancing and playing together from the very beginning. Although Wolferl is five years younger, he was involved in almost all the activities of us older ones. I help Nannerl to improve her riding skills, while she helps me to improve my dexterity on the pianoforte – to the delight of our mother.

In any case, we had a wonderful childhood in which we wanted for nothing.

Growing up

At some point, Christoph reached the age at which a young lad from better society either enters a military academy or goes to university for further education.

Now it was the same here as it had been with our entire upbringing. Christoph flatly refused to enter a university – wherever that might be – without me as a student.

In this case, we benefited from the fact that our mother had known Dorothea Erxleben and, above all, revered her art of healing. This woman had been an excellent and highly esteemed doctor. She was the first woman in the German Confederation to study medicine in Halle with the personal permission of King Frederick II and was awarded her doctorate in 1754.

The idea that women were fundamentally too stupid to study was thus rendered absurd. The director of the University of Ingolstadt, Johann Adam Freiherr von Ickstatt, therefore offered our parents a compromise in consultation with his prince: I was allowed to attend the law lectures and – to a certain extent – also take part in the students‘ discussions.

However, I had to sit behind the male students and would not be given the right to take an official degree. It was also made a condition that we siblings only started studying when we reached the age of 17.

In due course, Christoph and I were sent to live with my father‘s relatives in Ingolstadt, where we were integrated into family life. We were actually also diligent students of law.

Our temporary home was located directly on the Danube. I learnt to love the river. I could sit on its banks for hours and watch the play of light on the water or throw flat river pebbles into the water and let them bounce. Cousin Peter had shown me how to do this. He is three years older than us and had decided in favour of a military career. As a result, he was rarely to be found at home during our time in Ingolstadt.

Our cousins Luise and Kreszentia were completely different. Both are younger, Zenzi was actually still a child at the time. Both often disturbed us and stopped us from learning. But we quite like them because they are also very funny girls. They also have guts. Both Christoph and I are fond of that.

Christoph and I talked a lot about our future during this time. We agreed that we would both look for a partner that we both liked. Because our personal bond was very important to us. We couldn‘t imagine what it would be like to no longer have contact.

Aunt Seraphia made us very happy, because she was always in our vicinity during our student life and regularly organised get-togethers with us and our relatives in München or Ingolstadt, where we danced extensively. Some of our fellow students were also included in these dance evenings and new, sometimes intimate friendships grew, some of which would certainly last for a long time to come.

To my surprise, after completing my studies and exams, I was given an official document allowing me to practise law in public. At least in theory. Practical application is one of those things ...

It was rumoured that Director Ickstatt and Professor Johann Adam Weishaupt20 said that they had come to appreciate me and had never taught such a sociable class of students, as everyone pulled themselves together because of me and behaved reasonably well. What‘s more, our grade had done everything in literally no time.

At first, they could not have imagined that a woman would be capable of such achievements. To their surprise, my contracts were watertight, and that could only be said of a few lawyers. After we graduated, my brother was allowed to spend some time learning the ropes with a lawyer in München, but as a woman I was not allowed to do that, which is why I travelled back to our parents.

During this time, I had leisure to inhale all the news I could absorb. So, I learnt that Maria Theresa‘s 14-year-old daughter Maria Antonia (the French call her Marie Antoinette) was married in April in the Augustinian Church in Wien per procurationem21 to the French Dauphin Luis-Auguste, who was not present at his own wedding. She then travelled to Versailles, where the real wedding to the heir of the throne took place.

I could imagine that it wouldn‘t be easy for the young woman. Suddenly, she was more or less on her own in a foreign country, where she was also in the public eye. No matter what she did, there would always be people who would criticise her.

But I also had a lot of contact with Nannerl. Every time we visited our relatives in Salzburg, I tried to meet Nannerl. This was usually possible because the houses were only a few streets apart. Nannerl proudly told me that Wolfgang had been awarded the Order of the Golden Spur by Pope Clement XIV on 26 June. He can now call himself a Cavaliere, Chevalier or Knight. Of course, he is also very busy composing in Italy. But Nannerl has not remained idle either. She composes and plays a lot herself. She is a fantastic pianoforte player and continues to improve.

I, too, was always very interested in news from around the world. Including news of Captain James Cook, who was on an expedition to a new continent that had already been called Terra Australis incognita22 since Claudius Ptolemy. Cook took possession of the eastern part of New Holland23 for the Kingdom of Great Britain and named it New South Wales.

In July, the Russians defeated the Ottoman fleet in the three-day naval battle of Çesme24. Shortly afterwards, they also defeated an 80,000-strong army of their enemies. With the help of the Russians, Greece was thus rid of this foreign rule.

I‘m so glad that there are no fights here at the moment.

”To see clearly, all you need is a change of perspective.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry French novelist (1900–1944)

15 The town name propably comes from reich (rich) and hall (old word for salt), which means rich of salt. Bad Reichenhall – spa since 7. June 1890 – still has a saline.

16 At this time the spelling was Baiern instead of Bayern for Bavaria. The y was introduced by royal decree of King Ludwig I in 1825. He loved Greece.

17 Maps from the 18th century are still labelled with the name Berchtolsgaden instead of Berchtesgaden. See map at the back of the book.

18 This small lake near Bad Reichenhall is now called Listsee.

19 Munich

20 Johann Adam Weishaupt was the founder of the Illuminati Order in 1776.

21 By power of attorney – marriage ceremony by proxy.

22 Southern, unknown land.

23 This is what Australia was called after the first discovery by the Dutch

24 In the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)

1771

In 1771, we, who had a much better life than the majority of the population, also became old mother Hubbard‘s cupbord. The previous year‘s harvests had already been extremely poor due to floods and storms, and there seemed to be no end to this. Grain became immensely more expensive and also became a kind of luxury for us.

Father had the foresight to store grain in his warehouse in Hamburg and gave it out in small quantities to the needy at very humane prices. However, he had to have this store and the deliveries guarded like the apple of his eye. There were also many sacks of grain stored on our farm that only a few people knew about. In the meantime, grain prices in Bavaria had risen sevenfold.

Christoph was now back home and I helped him with the law cases he received from clients who lived in our neighbourhood. Unfortunately, all my legal training didn‘t help me against what befell me about a year after we graduated.

Seraphia had an invitation to a large party in Ingolstadt in September 1771, which included Christoph and me. We were all looking forward to the evening. Seraphia was hoping to make new connections that would help her career and we siblings were looking forward to seeing some of our fellow students again.

We had travelled here two weeks in advance and met up with our former fellow students and lecturers. They were fun days with lots of banter, but also exciting and serious discussions. Some had grown up compared to the first day of our studies, others had remained the same thoughtless lads.

We once attended a lecture for first-year students. It was led by Count Jacob von Falkenstein. He was a likeable and handsome man with wit and charm. Von Falkenstein included us, who were already qualified lawyers, and then seemed very surprised that some of the questions were passed on to me for answering. You could see the surprise he felt when he got exactly the right answers from me.

Von Falkenstein was a few years older than us. He supported the university as a lecturer on a monthly basis. He had come as a lecturer towards the end of our student days and we had only seen him a few times. He was likeable and good at what he did. And von Falkenstein knew how to keep students in a good mood and spur them on to work hard.

Seraphia had told us that his mother, an eccentric person, had had the ambition in her youth to become the best violinist in the German-speaking world. She was really good, but was quickly married off to the Count von Falkenstein and was thus away from the soirée stage. According to Seraphia, she never got over the fact that she could no longer play in front of larger audiences, while our mother had a career despite her marriage.

Von Falkenstein was also there for a social evening. He laughed and joked with us and I could well imagine him as a reliable friend. The two of us talked briefly about a contentious family dispute. He was quite a good lawyer and, it seemed to me, a sensitive person.

The ball and its consequences

But now to the ball that followed just two evenings later. For this very festive occasion, I wore a gold-coloured silk dress, combined with a green breast insert and green sleeves. The dress was perfectly made and relatively simply decorated.

I don‘t like this overloaded fashion that can still be seen at some of the big receptions and balls. It makes me feel like a cow at a cattle drive25. Christoph complimented me when he saw me. That‘s saying something. He‘s usually rather reserved about such things.

We arrived at a large townhouse and were introduced to our hosts. They had a wonderfully large ballroom decorated with thousands of colourful and fragrant flowers, probably from countless greenhouses.

Almost immediately, my brother spotted our university friends and we went to meet them. It was as if we hadn‘t seen each other for decades instead of just a few hours!

I couldn‘t look as quickly as the gentlemen asked me for my favour for the individual dances. I had also promised a dance to the Count von Falkenstein. Incidentally, he was the nephew of the hosts and had already asked for a dance when we were introduced to his uncle and his wife. He insisted on a minuet at a later hour.

So I danced the first minuet with Fritz, the first German dance with Konstantin, the first Anglaise with Johann and so on. Of course, I danced one minuet with my brother.

During the dance break, we stood together and drank punch. My brother gave me a poke in the ribs. “Look, something‘s happening over there.”

I looked in the direction indicated and spotted a young lady obsessively chewing on the tips of her gloves26, while she fixed her gaze on an older man who I had already noticed unpleasantly. “She wants to get rid of him,” I said. “I understand that. I hope she succeeds!”

“He doesn‘t seem to understand what she‘s trying to tell him. Some people just don‘t know the secret language of ladies‘ gloves. Or he doesn‘t want to understand it.” He chuckled.

It was already past one o‘clock when I stepped out during another break in the orchestra to freshen up a bit and check my hair in the mirror. I had the feeling that a few hairpins had come loose.

With the help of a maid, whom our hostess had assigned to deal with just such incidents, my hair was back in place in no time and I was about to head back towards the ballroom when Leonhard von Falkenstein, the younger brother of Jacob von Falkenstein, stopped me. He was accompanied by a young lady and his brother.

“Ah, there you are! Dear Demoiselle von Sommerauer, please spare us a few minutes. Rumour has it that you are good with all kinds of contracts. I would like my contract with a business partner to be untroubled. You would do me a particular favour if you would take a quick look through it with my brother. There are only two pages. So it should only be a few minutes before you can tell me whether anything needs to be changed.”