Elgar’s Secret Lover

Please note: This is a downloadable PDF Ebook and not a physical book.

When old friend Arnold Chater Q.C. sends retired Norwegian Judge Christofferson a yellowing manuscript with the mysterious initials G.B. on the first page, the latter starts a quest to seek the truth about British composer Sir Edward Elgar’s secret muse in his masterpiece, the Enigma Variations, and whether he fathered an illegitimate child.

Fascinated with riddles and puzzles, the composer was in the habit of leaving a series of codes denoting the inspiration for his timeless compositions. But in the Enigma Variations, Elgar forsook his usual practice of inserting initials to honour his muse, explicitly refusing to name his great love by using a mysterious ellipsis. Cheekily, he gives a clue about his inspiration in the violin concerto with the words, ‘Here is enshrined the soul of …’

Chris Nicholson flagrantly delights in leading readers on a breathless chase of the women who were extraordinarily important in Elgar’s life. At the same time, he also unmasks Elgar as a man who hid himself and his intimate affairs behind a mask of respectability.

Nicholson is merciless in the details of Elgar’s life, loves and music, deciphering all the clues and delivering the final judgment as only he can.

‘Christopher Nicholson’s book about the great English composer Sir Edward Elgar is as enthralling as it is illuminating…. [it] is an important contribution not just to our thinking about Elgar, but also to the extant literature about artists and their muses.’ — Christopher Ballantine, LG Joel Professor of Music Emeritus and University Fellow University of KwaZulu-Natal

Please note: This is a downloadable PDF Ebook and not a physical book.