In January 1933, widowed Canadian psychiatrist Charles Flemming traveled
to Rome to deliver a paper at an international psychiatric meeting and
to further research the career of the eccentric Ukranian pianist,
Vladimir de Pachmann, for a biography he has always wanted to write. En
route, he learns of a young, virtually blind Polish pianist, Agnieszka
Lipska, who will be giving several recitals in Rome. She has familial
retinitis pigmentosa and her specialty is the music of Chopin. Charles
and Agnieszka are introduced by Simon Williams, a music critic assigned
to review the recitals. Her beauty and talent enraptures the heart of
the lonely doctor and a romance develops. Shortly after arriving in
Rome, Charles discovers that a manuscript containing aspects of de
Pachmann's life has been stolen from his hotel. This along with other
complications, including a near-drowning in the Tiber River, ultimately
involves the scrutiny of Mussolini's fascist police. At her final
recital, Agnieszka resists the restrictions of the government by playing
the Polish National Anthem as an encore disguised as an anonymous Polish
mazurka. However, a music critic recognizes the piece and the lovers are
forced to flee Rome with the help of the Polish ambassador. They travel
to Kraków, where Charles meets Agnieszka's family. Before leaving there
is concern over Agnieszka's abdominal pain, which appears to require
gynecologic surgery. On his ship back to Canada, Charles opens and reads
a disturbing letter written by Agnieszka's mother about her daughter's
past - a suppressed memory. The truth is revealed later on his return to
Toronto. Written for a mature audience with interests in music, history
and mystery, Mourning de Pachmann investigates the subtleties of love,
guilt and forgiveness, ambition and ego, as well as the rewards of a
personal adventure of a lonely, middle-aged man and a younger woman. In
this historical novel the reader will learn much about the career of the
real-life de Pachmann, who still mystifies musicologists and critics;
life in fascist Italy where it is illegal to sell condoms and dangerous
to deny the wishes of Il Duce, Benito Mussolini; and Europe on the verge
of another world war.
