The Reluctant Heiress [Mass Market Paperback]

Eva Ibbotson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2009

Being an heiress in 1920s Austria with nothing but a broken-down castle to your name and nary a penny in your purse could be frustrating for anyone but the Princess Theresa-Maria of Pfaffenstein. "Tessa," however, is thrilled with her situation, as it allows her to concentrate on her love of the arts - and no one in the Viennese opera company need know that their delightful and charming under-wardrobe mistress is really a princess. But when the dashing self-made millionaire Guy Farne arrives at the opera in search of suitable entertainment for his high society guests, Tessa realizes that there may be more to life - and love - than just music. But while the attraction between them in undeniable, Guy's insufferable snob of a fianc‚e only solidifies Tessa's determination to keep her true identity a secret. Yet, after a chance meeting with the handsome Englishman, Tessa's reserve begins to melt, and she starts to wonder if it's not too late for a fairytale ending...

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—In post-World War I Austria, Englishman and self-made magnate Guy Farne buys a countryside castle as part of an elaborate plan to woo Nerine, the woman he loved and lost as a penniless teenager. Meanwhile Tessa, Pfaffenstein Castle's headstrong young heiress, revels in the anonymity of life as a junior wardrobe mistress at the International Opera Company in Vienna. When Guy commissions the company to stage a production of Mozart's Magic Flute at Pfaffenstein, he and Tessa meet and bond over their love of art and music. He is unaware of her connection to his new estate until her identity is revealed at a lavish ball held to introduce Nerine to Austrian society. Though drawn to Tessa, Guy stays faithful to his deliciously snobby fiancée. In the meantime Tessa fields the dogged (and comic) marriage proposals of a local prince. Predictably, the star-crossed pair eventually get their well-deserved happy ending. The novel opens with too much telling instead of showing, but Ibbotson hits her stride once all the players assemble at the castle. Vivid details bring supporting characters to life. German phrases and literary allusions may escape young readers, but do not detract from the overall flow of the narrative. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but this is satisfactory historical romance for future fans of Philippa Gregory.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA
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About the Author

Eva Ibbotson is a New York Times bestseller, and her novels have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize in the United Kingdom. She lives in England.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Speak; Reissue edition (April 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142412775
• ISBN-13: 978-0142412770
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Fiction > Europe

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super young teen historical romance, May 2, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reluctant Heiress (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1922, Princess Theresa-Maria of Pfaffenstein may be an heiress, but she will not inherit much more than a rundown castle. Most aristocrats would be appalled, but Tessa is euphoric, because her financial state allows her to do what she wants. Thus she works for the Viennese opera company as a wardrobe mistress hiding her royal connection from her peers.

First generation nouvelle riche English orphan millionaire Guy Farne comes to the opera house seeking a means to entertain his high society guests and his snobby fiancée. When he and Tessa meet they are attracted to one another and quickly fall in love. However, she is unsuited for him as he wants an aristocrat not a working girl as a wife. Meanwhile impoverished Prince Max loves Tessa and wants to marry her.

Though a young teen historical romance, THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS provides much more. The underlying premise throughout the complex story line is how much WWI shook up the world order; similar in tone to the excellent PBS series The people's Century especially how The Great War reshaped the rest of the twentieth century. Readers will need a bit of time to fully understand how the prime four characters feel about the new world order because Eva Ibottson has cleverly left clues about what would have been expected of each if WWI had not occurred. This is a great young adult early 1920s tale at a time when the enthusiasm of a new hope for world peace was waning into a great depression.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Angieville: THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS, September 21, 2009

By 

Angela Thompson "Angiegirl" (Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reluctant Heiress (Mass Market Paperback)

I was so excited to find another Eva Ibbotson book! Awhile back I blew through A Song for Summer, A Countess Below Stairs, A Company of Swans and The Morning Gift. When I surfaced again, I found myself really hoping the magic spell wouldn't end there. Happily there was one more sweet historical in store for me. THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS is a (retitled) re-issue of Ibbotson's Magic Flutes, which was originally published in 1982. It is set in the 1920s and revolves around the outrageously funny and touching members of the Viennese Opera Company, in particular a young woman named Tessa who eats, drinks, and breathes music and is the heart and soul of the company.

The narrative alternates between Tessa and Guy's stories as they work their way toward meeting one day in the bowels of the theater when Guy walks in on a weeping Tessa, who (an absolute martyr when it comes to opera) has just chopped off all her beautiful hair to provide a wig for the diva to wear in that night's performance. From there their lives intersect at more or less regular intervals and these two individuals with such wildly different backgrounds unexpectedly become friends. The one thing they share is a love of music. And music permeates the pages of this book, wrapping itself around you as you read. Tessa has turned her back on her past and made the opera the focus of her entire life, while Guy has all but nullified his humble origins by molding his life around the pursuit of wealth and power. When the woman he's loved since he was a young student at Oxford is suddenly widowed and back on the market, he lays out an alarmingly elaborate plan to woo and win her back and gift her with the life he believes she deserves. Unsurprisingly, no one is who they seem to be and that presents several sticky problems for our protagonists to tackle.

Opening up an Eva Ibbotson book is like biting into a hot biscuit smothered with butter and jam--at once perfectly satisfying and extremely comforting. Similar to A Countess Below Stairs there are few, if any, unpredictable events in this story. But that's not really what it's about. It's about those arresting passages you come across at just the right moment and think--perfect. Absolutely perfect. Similar to A Song for Summer and A Company of Swans the characters' love of art and nature fairly leap off the pages and it's hard to resist their charms and not wish you lived in a time and place where ancient royalty glided about crumbling castles and Mozart was god. In fact, my favorite bits in this book are the ones where the characters talk about Mozart and Beethoven and the way music makes life worth living. I liked Tessa and Guy quite a bit. I wish they had a few more scenes together. There is one point near the end of the story where they find themselves alone in the same place for the first time in months and months and their quiet conversation is exquisite. The story needed just a few more of those intimate moments to really cement the arc of their relationship and move it from like-minded acquaintances to soulmates. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my read, laughed several times, had tears in my eyes twice, and fell in love with each and every member of the opera company. For Ibbotson fans, this volume is not to be missed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Ibbotson, June 17, 2009

By 

Judith Wade (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reluctant Heiress (Mass Market Paperback)

All right - Ibbotson's books are formulaic, but who cares? THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS is a delightful page turner that made me laugh out loud and not want to stop reading. Loved it.