Schubert: A Musical Wayfarer

An insightful biography of the great composer, this book reveals Schubert's complex and fascinating private life alongside his musical genius. Brilliant, short-lived, and incredibly prolific, Schubert remains one of the most intriguing figures in music history. While his music attracts a wide audience, much of his private life is still shrouded in mystery, and significant portions of his work have been overlooked.

In this major new biography, Lorraine Byrne Bodley takes a detailed look into Schubert's life, from his early years at the Stadtkonvikt to the harrowing battle with syphilis that led to his death at the age of thirty-one. Drawing on extensive archival research in Vienna and the Czech Republic, and re-considering the meaning of some of his best-known works, Bodley provides a fuller account than ever before of Schubert's extraordinary achievement and incredible courage. This is a compelling new portrait of one of the most beloved composers of the nineteenth century.