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Ecstasy
In the glittering hotbed of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Vienna, one woman’s life would define and defy an era
Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. Poet and novelist Franz Werfel described her as “one of the very few magical women that exist.� But who was this woman who brought these most eminent of men to their knees? In Ecstasy, Mary Sharratt finally gives one of the most controversial and complex women of her time the center stage.
Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, young, beautiful Alma Schindler yearns to make her mark as a composer. A brand-new era of possibility for women is dawning and she is determined to make the most of it. But Alma loses her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, nearly twenty years her senior. He demands that she give up her music as a condition for their marriage. Torn by her love and in awe of his genius, how will she remain true to herself and her artistic passion?
Part cautionary tale, part triumph of the feminist spirit, Ecstasy reveals the true Alma Mahler: composer, author, daughter, sister, mother, wife, lover, and muse.
Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. Poet and novelist Franz Werfel described her as “one of the very few magical women that exist.� But who was this woman who brought these most eminent of men to their knees? In Ecstasy, Mary Sharratt finally gives one of the most controversial and complex women of her time the center stage.
Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, young, beautiful Alma Schindler yearns to make her mark as a composer. A brand-new era of possibility for women is dawning and she is determined to make the most of it. But Alma loses her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, nearly twenty years her senior. He demands that she give up her music as a condition for their marriage. Torn by her love and in awe of his genius, how will she remain true to herself and her artistic passion?
Part cautionary tale, part triumph of the feminist spirit, Ecstasy reveals the true Alma Mahler: composer, author, daughter, sister, mother, wife, lover, and muse.
387 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 2018
181 people are currently reading
4,436 people want to read
About the author
Mary Sharratt
13books481followersMary Sharratt is an American writer who lives with her Belgian husband in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England, the setting for her acclaimed 2010 novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, which recasts the Pendle Witches of 1612 in their historical context as cunning folk and healers.
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write her most recent novel, ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, which explores the dramatic life of the 12th century Benedictine abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau.
Winner of the 2005 WILLA Literary Award and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Mary has also written the acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE (Coffee House 2000), THE REAL MINERVA (Houghton Mifflin 2004), THE VANISHING POINT (Houghton Mifflin 2006), and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT (Crocus Books 2006), which celebrates female anti-heroes--strong women who break all the rules. Her short fiction has been published in TWIN CITIES NOIR (Akashic Books 2006).
Mary writes regular articles for Historical Novels Review and Solander on the theme of writing women back into history. When she isn't writing, she's usually riding her spirited Welsh mare through the Lancashire countryside.
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write her most recent novel, ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, which explores the dramatic life of the 12th century Benedictine abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau.
Winner of the 2005 WILLA Literary Award and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Mary has also written the acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE (Coffee House 2000), THE REAL MINERVA (Houghton Mifflin 2004), THE VANISHING POINT (Houghton Mifflin 2006), and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT (Crocus Books 2006), which celebrates female anti-heroes--strong women who break all the rules. Her short fiction has been published in TWIN CITIES NOIR (Akashic Books 2006).
Mary writes regular articles for Historical Novels Review and Solander on the theme of writing women back into history. When she isn't writing, she's usually riding her spirited Welsh mare through the Lancashire countryside.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
March 12, 2018
“Let’s raise our glasses to Alma Maria Schindler, Fran Zuckerandl said, who has turned the rest of us poor women emerald with envy. Not only is she the most beautiful girl in Vienna, and that’s quite bad enough, she’s also a brilliant pianist. That’s infuriating. But on top of it all, she composes!�
Alma’s mother was pregnant with Alma ‘before� she married her famous painter father, Jakob Schindler. She tells Alma that she ‘had� to get married. Alma was in love with a man named Alex Zeminsky - a poor man. Alma’s mother literally forbid her daughter to choose her own husband.....she did everything she could to stop the romance between she and Alex. Her mother told Alma about her childhood of poverty, and the financial struggles during the early years of marriage to her father.
Alma ‘was� conflicted. The pressure of how Alma should live her live was constant.
Mother had two wishes for Alma:
1- that she didn’t marry for money without love
2- that she didn’t marry for love without money.
Alma had two wishes for herself:
1- that she didn’t have to sacrifice her art for Love
2- that she didn’t have to sacrifice love for for art.
Alma wanted to give herself completely to a man and she wanted to give yourself completely to music. She wished to be a composer - of the great symphonies. She had the talent and practiced diligently.
At age 19, when Alma received her first kiss by Gustav Klimt- it was so passionate- physically- and soulfully - (the author did a lovely job conveying this young girls ‘awakening� experience of lust & passion)....that Alma knew that to deny herself a life without love would be as painful as to deny herself with music ( which was already her lustful passion).
Having ‘both� - love and her independence to follow her dreams - as a female in the 19th/20th century, was a complicated matter.
The man she married - Gustav Mahler- wanted her to regard his music, be his wife, but not his colleague. He didn’t want Alma to be a composer because he was one.
Alma knew if she married him, and carried on composing behind his back, it would still destroy her creative spirit.
Alma’s final thinking - before marrying Mahler.... was is that the only way there was any hope of distinguishing herself and doing anything remarkable at all in life was to marry a great man and share his destiny. I WANTED TO DIE AT THIS MOMENT in the novel....scream at Alma. I saw her spirit breaking - understood her thinking -but was sad.
Much more storytelling to come � and tensions keep building.
The book is about 400 pages - but reading flies by. I knew next to nothing about Alma Mahler and her excruciating battles of the times both from society & those closest to her. I learned a lot and enjoyed the journey.
I absolutely loved reading this historical novel. I was transported back to this period. There’s interesting history, personal storytelling, drama, passion, Love, conflicts, and the music. Just delightful!
Thank You to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Netgalley, and Mary Sharratt
Alma’s mother was pregnant with Alma ‘before� she married her famous painter father, Jakob Schindler. She tells Alma that she ‘had� to get married. Alma was in love with a man named Alex Zeminsky - a poor man. Alma’s mother literally forbid her daughter to choose her own husband.....she did everything she could to stop the romance between she and Alex. Her mother told Alma about her childhood of poverty, and the financial struggles during the early years of marriage to her father.
Alma ‘was� conflicted. The pressure of how Alma should live her live was constant.
Mother had two wishes for Alma:
1- that she didn’t marry for money without love
2- that she didn’t marry for love without money.
Alma had two wishes for herself:
1- that she didn’t have to sacrifice her art for Love
2- that she didn’t have to sacrifice love for for art.
Alma wanted to give herself completely to a man and she wanted to give yourself completely to music. She wished to be a composer - of the great symphonies. She had the talent and practiced diligently.
At age 19, when Alma received her first kiss by Gustav Klimt- it was so passionate- physically- and soulfully - (the author did a lovely job conveying this young girls ‘awakening� experience of lust & passion)....that Alma knew that to deny herself a life without love would be as painful as to deny herself with music ( which was already her lustful passion).
Having ‘both� - love and her independence to follow her dreams - as a female in the 19th/20th century, was a complicated matter.
The man she married - Gustav Mahler- wanted her to regard his music, be his wife, but not his colleague. He didn’t want Alma to be a composer because he was one.
Alma knew if she married him, and carried on composing behind his back, it would still destroy her creative spirit.
Alma’s final thinking - before marrying Mahler.... was is that the only way there was any hope of distinguishing herself and doing anything remarkable at all in life was to marry a great man and share his destiny. I WANTED TO DIE AT THIS MOMENT in the novel....scream at Alma. I saw her spirit breaking - understood her thinking -but was sad.
Much more storytelling to come � and tensions keep building.
The book is about 400 pages - but reading flies by. I knew next to nothing about Alma Mahler and her excruciating battles of the times both from society & those closest to her. I learned a lot and enjoyed the journey.
I absolutely loved reading this historical novel. I was transported back to this period. There’s interesting history, personal storytelling, drama, passion, Love, conflicts, and the music. Just delightful!
Thank You to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Netgalley, and Mary Sharratt
May 6, 2018
Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt is a 2018 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publication.
This story is a fictionalized accounting of composer and pianist Alma Schindler’s life during the period she was married to famed composer Gustav Mahler. As a condition of her marriage, Alma promised her husband, she would give up her own music and channel all her passion for music through his compositions and successes, which eventually takes her down the path of depression and melancholy, and into the arms of another man.
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It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of story I’m reading- if Vienna is the location- It immediately puts me into an entirely different mood. There is just something so atmospheric about it, so romantic and steeped in incredible history- especially from an artistic standpoint. This book was no exception. I willingly allowed myself to fall dreamily into the angst ridden, highly dramatic, often tragic life of Alma Schindler Gustuv. Alma was a talented composer, someone who swore she would never succumb to traditional married life, always putting her music first- until she fell in love with Gustuv Mahler.
This story follows the impulsive Alma as she struggles through her teenage years, where she copes with the way her mother demurs to her new husband, and the addition to their family of a younger brother, as well as her sister’s struggle with mental illness. While Alma's often petulant and selfish, she is also a great romantic and feels things deeply.
She falls in and out of love easily enough, but did seem to have a tremendous depth of feeling for Gustuv who was more self -absorbed than Alma ever thought of being. Despite his dismissive attitude towards her, she lives for those periods of great passion between them. It was an amazing journey Alma took, as she suffered from discontent, boredom, and pent up creative power that left her frustrated and badly in need of release.
The story and the marriage between Alma and Gustuv reads like a musical composition at times with staccato and legato, diminuendo, and crescendos, Molto and Sempre, melody and harmony. I enjoyed the high drama, I must say. If this had been a strictly fictional book, I may have rolled my eyes at some of the intense emotional turmoil Alma was always on the verge of, thinking it just a little bit too melodramatic or over the top, but since this story is based on true events, it proves that life often is packed with more high -pitched angst than we want to admit. Artists of all forms seem more prone to those fits of agony and mania, but I’ll keep this in mind the next time I become exasperated by an overwrought heroine.
I also enjoyed Alma journey back to the place where she was able to take charge of her life and music again, was able to express herself musically and artistically, feeling more fulfilled and more independent, perhaps learning that lesson the hard way. In the end, Alma was more of a trailblazer for women than she is credited with, eventually leaving behind her own musical legacy, despite her continual attraction to men driven by their careers.
Many of you, myself included, will want to know more about Alma’s life after reading this book. It is interesting to note, that she often maintained her role as muse, becoming the subject of plays, books, and movies. While there are plenty of resources to choose from, the truth of Alma’s life is often speculative, elusive, and the subject of much debate.
This is quick, fascinating read, I found to be quite interesting and very absorbing.
4 stars
April 8, 2018
5 alluring stars to Ecstasy! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
(Last vacation review, I promise! 😉)
In college, I had a poster of Klimt’s painting, The Kiss, hanging on my dorm room wall. It was sultry and magical. My love for art and art history was sparked by my beloved high school art teacher. I think she saw a lack of confidence in me, and in retrospect, I feel she took every opportunity to bring that out. I yearn for books about art as a result, especially in my favorite genre, historical fiction. All of that to say, when I saw Ecstasy’s cover and the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book.
Set at the turn of the twentieth century in Vienna, Ecstasy is the story of a most-intriguing woman, Alma Schindler. Daughter of an artist, Alma is not only a brilliant pianist, she is a talented composer. She has the opportunity to seek further training to become a star composer, but her mother would not let her because she was female.
Alma’s first kiss was by none other than Gustav Klimt. She later marries Gustav Mahler, a composer, who forbids her music and wants her to be a wife and mother. Married for many years, Alma and Mahler have an up and down marriage, but Mahler is quite obsessed with Alma. She has an affair with Walter Gropius, a famous architect, and later moves on to Franz Werfel, novelist and poet. Schindler has each of these men entranced with her. She is the muse for each and probably the greatest love.
Ecstasy is very much about Alma’s coming of age during a time when women had strict expectations, but culturally and creatively, an era of possibility was simultaneously opening up, and Alma fully embraces it. She is a woman ahead of her time, testing the boundaries that try to contain her, jumping over them, and flourishing with possibilities that she creates for herself.
Alma Schindler had a full life, and in reading her life’s story, I had to be patient with the details and settle in to this book. When one woman is a composer, an author, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a lover, and a muse for various artists, there is much content to be shared! I found Alma enchanting and energizing, and I wish that more people knew her story.
Thank you to Mary Sharratt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Edelweiss for the ARC. Ecstasy will be released on April 10, 2018.
(Last vacation review, I promise! 😉)
In college, I had a poster of Klimt’s painting, The Kiss, hanging on my dorm room wall. It was sultry and magical. My love for art and art history was sparked by my beloved high school art teacher. I think she saw a lack of confidence in me, and in retrospect, I feel she took every opportunity to bring that out. I yearn for books about art as a result, especially in my favorite genre, historical fiction. All of that to say, when I saw Ecstasy’s cover and the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book.
Set at the turn of the twentieth century in Vienna, Ecstasy is the story of a most-intriguing woman, Alma Schindler. Daughter of an artist, Alma is not only a brilliant pianist, she is a talented composer. She has the opportunity to seek further training to become a star composer, but her mother would not let her because she was female.
Alma’s first kiss was by none other than Gustav Klimt. She later marries Gustav Mahler, a composer, who forbids her music and wants her to be a wife and mother. Married for many years, Alma and Mahler have an up and down marriage, but Mahler is quite obsessed with Alma. She has an affair with Walter Gropius, a famous architect, and later moves on to Franz Werfel, novelist and poet. Schindler has each of these men entranced with her. She is the muse for each and probably the greatest love.
Ecstasy is very much about Alma’s coming of age during a time when women had strict expectations, but culturally and creatively, an era of possibility was simultaneously opening up, and Alma fully embraces it. She is a woman ahead of her time, testing the boundaries that try to contain her, jumping over them, and flourishing with possibilities that she creates for herself.
Alma Schindler had a full life, and in reading her life’s story, I had to be patient with the details and settle in to this book. When one woman is a composer, an author, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a lover, and a muse for various artists, there is much content to be shared! I found Alma enchanting and energizing, and I wish that more people knew her story.
Thank you to Mary Sharratt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Edelweiss for the ARC. Ecstasy will be released on April 10, 2018.
April 23, 2018
I saw the movie Mahler by Ken Russell a couple of years ago. Well, it's so many years ago that I don't really remember much about it. But, it was my first introduction to Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma. So, when I saw that there would be a book about Alma Mahler was I instantly interested. I was thrilled when I got a copy of this book to read.
Just think of what Alma Schindler could have achieved if she was born decades later when a woman could be much more than a wife and a mother. She dreamed of becoming a composer, but her mother and stepfather (mostly stepfather) didn't think higher education would be something for her since she was a woman and wasting money on an education for her was nothing he wanted since his opinion was that her role in life getting married and have children. Alma, however, wanted to compose, to be something. Then, Gustav Mahler enters her life, and she falls in love with him. However, he demands that she gives up her music to dedicate her life to their marriage and his needs. And, she does that. She suffocates the part of herself that loves music, but how can she be complete when part of her, the creative part of her has to be subdued? When her life is only to be a wife and mother? It doesn't, and it's just tragic that when they finally find themselves true to each other, Gustav and Alma is time running out for them...
This book would have been at least twice as thick (or more) if Mary Sharratt has written about Almas whole life, not just her marriage to Mahler. And, I would have read it. I loved the book from the very start. I loved getting to know Alma Mahler, this extraordinary woman that had such a fantastic life. I loved how Alma finally has come out of the shadows of the famous men she was married to. To show the world that she was a great composer as well.
Just think of what Alma Schindler could have achieved if she was born decades later when a woman could be much more than a wife and a mother. She dreamed of becoming a composer, but her mother and stepfather (mostly stepfather) didn't think higher education would be something for her since she was a woman and wasting money on an education for her was nothing he wanted since his opinion was that her role in life getting married and have children. Alma, however, wanted to compose, to be something. Then, Gustav Mahler enters her life, and she falls in love with him. However, he demands that she gives up her music to dedicate her life to their marriage and his needs. And, she does that. She suffocates the part of herself that loves music, but how can she be complete when part of her, the creative part of her has to be subdued? When her life is only to be a wife and mother? It doesn't, and it's just tragic that when they finally find themselves true to each other, Gustav and Alma is time running out for them...
This book would have been at least twice as thick (or more) if Mary Sharratt has written about Almas whole life, not just her marriage to Mahler. And, I would have read it. I loved the book from the very start. I loved getting to know Alma Mahler, this extraordinary woman that had such a fantastic life. I loved how Alma finally has come out of the shadows of the famous men she was married to. To show the world that she was a great composer as well.
June 9, 2020
Alma Maria Schindler (1879-1964) was a Viennese-born composer. She was musically active from her early years, only to have it suppressed by a famous composer and one of the leading conductors of the time, and later her husband Gustav Mahler. She composed at least 17 songs, which are actively performed and recorded. According to her diary, she composed over 100 songs, but it is unknown if maybe they were destroyed during WWII, when she was fleeing Austria for US.
1899, Vienna, Austria. This story starts with Alma at the age of 19, when she dreams about composing an opera � something no woman had ever done.
Her stepfather, Carl Moll, was the Secession’s vice president. The Vienna Secession art movement was the best-known and included Gustav Klimt, Max Klinger, and Fernand Khnopff. This was her stepfather’s circle, artists of unique style, who broke from tradition. And this is how she got to know Gustav Klimt, 37 at the time, who becomes her first love.
When Alma’s stepfather refuses to pay for her to study at the Vienna Conservatory, it fuels even a bigger fire inside her to succeed. Her lessons continue with Alexander von Zemlinsky, a talented composer and conductor.
Then, she meets Gustav Mahler and everything changes. She dreams of them composing side by side like Robert and Clara Schumann. But he couldn’t be clearer that such thing will never happen as he needs her as his wife and not his colleague. She is torn, but his genius touches her to the core.
“…talent in itself was not enough. One must be brave enough to seize one’s gift and go to battle for it. (�) Was she courageous enough…�?
She suspects that “she would end up serving a man anyway.� Why not “to serve genius instead of mediocrity?� Is she to become “A mere footnote to his brilliance?�
Gustav accepts a position in NYC, where Alma meets Natalie Curtis. “She’s an ethnomusicologist and lived for years with the Hopi Indians in Arizona. She’s written two books on Indian culture, and she’s also a composer.� Alma is flabbergasted. “How truly democratic America is. (�) � never had Alma imagined that a woman could be this free, this intrepid, this bold. Only in America.�
To Alma’s another surprise, “This being America, the president of the New York Philharmonic was a woman.�
The author vividly portrays a woman who was musically talented, but was forced to choose. She couldn’t be a wife and pursue her career. It was her duty as a wife to support her husband and his career. This only resulted in her artistic soul dying inside her and being depressed.
1899, Vienna, Austria. This story starts with Alma at the age of 19, when she dreams about composing an opera � something no woman had ever done.
Her stepfather, Carl Moll, was the Secession’s vice president. The Vienna Secession art movement was the best-known and included Gustav Klimt, Max Klinger, and Fernand Khnopff. This was her stepfather’s circle, artists of unique style, who broke from tradition. And this is how she got to know Gustav Klimt, 37 at the time, who becomes her first love.
When Alma’s stepfather refuses to pay for her to study at the Vienna Conservatory, it fuels even a bigger fire inside her to succeed. Her lessons continue with Alexander von Zemlinsky, a talented composer and conductor.
Then, she meets Gustav Mahler and everything changes. She dreams of them composing side by side like Robert and Clara Schumann. But he couldn’t be clearer that such thing will never happen as he needs her as his wife and not his colleague. She is torn, but his genius touches her to the core.
“…talent in itself was not enough. One must be brave enough to seize one’s gift and go to battle for it. (�) Was she courageous enough…�?
She suspects that “she would end up serving a man anyway.� Why not “to serve genius instead of mediocrity?� Is she to become “A mere footnote to his brilliance?�
Gustav accepts a position in NYC, where Alma meets Natalie Curtis. “She’s an ethnomusicologist and lived for years with the Hopi Indians in Arizona. She’s written two books on Indian culture, and she’s also a composer.� Alma is flabbergasted. “How truly democratic America is. (�) � never had Alma imagined that a woman could be this free, this intrepid, this bold. Only in America.�
To Alma’s another surprise, “This being America, the president of the New York Philharmonic was a woman.�
The author vividly portrays a woman who was musically talented, but was forced to choose. She couldn’t be a wife and pursue her career. It was her duty as a wife to support her husband and his career. This only resulted in her artistic soul dying inside her and being depressed.
May 7, 2018
Read more reviews like this, plus fascinating author interviews, exclusive guest posts and book extracts, on my blog:
Alma is beautiful, passionate and independent-minded, fond of poetry, drama and literature and a talented pianist. She also shows a talent for composition and harbours an ambition to be recognised as a composer of her own music. However, she is prevented from following her dreams by the constraints of society and the expectations placed on her of marriage and motherhood. It’s a time when women’s talents and achievements are downplayed or, worse, characterised as ‘unfeminine�.
Alma’s admiration for composers and artists of the day is reciprocated by, amongst others, Klimt and Zemlinsky. They are attracted by her beauty and her lively conversation. Neither of these are suitable marriage prospects, however, and by the time she is twenty-one, Alma feels in ‘stasis�, unfulfilled and overwhelmed by an awakening sexuality that she is unable to express. Her only solace is in music.
Enter Gustav Mahler, the renowned conductor and composer who is as entranced by Alma as she is with his musical talent. However, when his offer of marriage comes it is accompanied by a condition that will mean Alma sacrificing her own ambitions for her husband’s work and career. Despite the age difference, warnings from those close to her and her own misgivings about the bargain she is making, Alma accepts his offer of marriage. Heartbreaking tragedy, illness and separation from friends and family will make Alma’s and Gustav’s marriage at times a tempestuous affair. As Alma’s mother notes: “Love and marriage. It’s so much more complicated than people realize.�
I really enjoyed Ecstasy, not least because, in one of those moments of serendipity, I attended a concert of Mahler’s Second Symphony a few nights before starting the book. Described in the programme as ‘monumental�, it’s certainly epic. With the biggest orchestra I’ve ever seen, including some offstage, a symphony chorus and two soloists, the composer throws in pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. However, we didn’t have the five minute pause between the first and second movements that Mahler insisted on for its first performance, which Alma witnesses in the book.
There’s something I find fascinating about reading of the lives of women who married famous men, albeit fictionalised accounts, because, in almost all cases, it strikes me they were often just as accomplished, if not more, than the men they married. Yet, like, Alma, they were expected to channel their talents into supporting their husbands, being the perfect hostess and doting mother. Reading Ecstasy made we wonder if great talent, like that of Gustav Mahler, can ever excuse selfishness and the often casual disregard for those around them.
This is a book rich in historical detail and I loved the way the author evoked the sights and atmosphere of turn of the century Vienna (a city I have visited and really loved) and its musicians, artists and poets. I also found engaging Alma’s wonder at the sophistication of New York when she and Gustav travel there to pursue his career. As the author notes in her afterword, Alma led a full life even after the events covered in the novel. I can only agree with Mary Sharratt when she writes: ‘The deeper I delved into Alma’s story, the more complex and compelling her character revealed itself to be.�
I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Alma is beautiful, passionate and independent-minded, fond of poetry, drama and literature and a talented pianist. She also shows a talent for composition and harbours an ambition to be recognised as a composer of her own music. However, she is prevented from following her dreams by the constraints of society and the expectations placed on her of marriage and motherhood. It’s a time when women’s talents and achievements are downplayed or, worse, characterised as ‘unfeminine�.
Alma’s admiration for composers and artists of the day is reciprocated by, amongst others, Klimt and Zemlinsky. They are attracted by her beauty and her lively conversation. Neither of these are suitable marriage prospects, however, and by the time she is twenty-one, Alma feels in ‘stasis�, unfulfilled and overwhelmed by an awakening sexuality that she is unable to express. Her only solace is in music.
Enter Gustav Mahler, the renowned conductor and composer who is as entranced by Alma as she is with his musical talent. However, when his offer of marriage comes it is accompanied by a condition that will mean Alma sacrificing her own ambitions for her husband’s work and career. Despite the age difference, warnings from those close to her and her own misgivings about the bargain she is making, Alma accepts his offer of marriage. Heartbreaking tragedy, illness and separation from friends and family will make Alma’s and Gustav’s marriage at times a tempestuous affair. As Alma’s mother notes: “Love and marriage. It’s so much more complicated than people realize.�
I really enjoyed Ecstasy, not least because, in one of those moments of serendipity, I attended a concert of Mahler’s Second Symphony a few nights before starting the book. Described in the programme as ‘monumental�, it’s certainly epic. With the biggest orchestra I’ve ever seen, including some offstage, a symphony chorus and two soloists, the composer throws in pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. However, we didn’t have the five minute pause between the first and second movements that Mahler insisted on for its first performance, which Alma witnesses in the book.
There’s something I find fascinating about reading of the lives of women who married famous men, albeit fictionalised accounts, because, in almost all cases, it strikes me they were often just as accomplished, if not more, than the men they married. Yet, like, Alma, they were expected to channel their talents into supporting their husbands, being the perfect hostess and doting mother. Reading Ecstasy made we wonder if great talent, like that of Gustav Mahler, can ever excuse selfishness and the often casual disregard for those around them.
This is a book rich in historical detail and I loved the way the author evoked the sights and atmosphere of turn of the century Vienna (a city I have visited and really loved) and its musicians, artists and poets. I also found engaging Alma’s wonder at the sophistication of New York when she and Gustav travel there to pursue his career. As the author notes in her afterword, Alma led a full life even after the events covered in the novel. I can only agree with Mary Sharratt when she writes: ‘The deeper I delved into Alma’s story, the more complex and compelling her character revealed itself to be.�
I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in return for an honest and unbiased review.
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December 20, 2017Author Mary Sharratt on Blog Tour for ECSTASY, April 10-May 18!
March 11, 2018
---- Disclosure: I received this book for free from ŷ. ----
Well, the cover isn't bad, & the prelude was good. Struggled to get through the 1st chapter. Unconsciously started hard skimming the thing somewhere after the middle of the 2nd chapter, & gave up during the 3rd chapter. I set it down after the 1st chapter hoping it would be better when I came back to it, but obviously that didn't pan out.
I hate the protagonist. The writing was unclear & tedious. I also didn't realize I had opened a wordier version of a Harlequin romance. I've no idea where all those stellar reviews are coming from, but this wasn't anything like the blurb led me to expect. Shame, b/c the women associated w/ the great men were usually great in their own right, but have been left over-looked & uncredited. I'd hoped stories like I thought this was going to be would correct some of that, & maybe some of them will, but unfortunately this book is not one of those stories......especially if I can't even manage to get through the reading of the thing. It's too bad, but this was a fail.
February 19, 2022
“Мъжет� определят правилата, а ние ги нарушаваме, за да не полудеем�.
Алма, по баща Шиндлер, по мъж Малер, по съпруг номер две Гропиус, а с номер три и Верфел. Музата на виенския артистичен елит, пленителна и загадъчна като от картина на Климт (също неин поклонник), Алма е силно творческа, ще рече сложна, натура, която събира в себе си противоречията от границата между две епохи. “Екстаз� е приятна и ненатрапчива книга, която директно повдига завесата към личния свят на тази забележителна жена.
Накъдреният сецесион като доминираща естетика до Първата световна война издига еснафска Виена до културен център и артистичен еталон в Европа. Това е градът, в който се подвизават артисти от всички краища на Хабсбургската империя � космополитен, но малък и уютен едновременно. Период, в който може би за първи и за последен път, Виена “им� значение�.
Но ако в изкуствата Виена изпъква с модерност, същото не може да се каже за обществените нрави � максималното, на което една талантлива и амбициозна жена с артистични аспирации може да се надява, е съмнителната от морална гледна точка титла “муза� на някой прочут художник, композитор или писател. За неомъжените и посветили се на професията си жени е запазено специално място на кушетката на доктор Фройд. Разбираемо, те не могат да бъдат други, освен “трети пол�, незадоволени и истерички, неизпълнили своето изконно женско предназначение.
Ето защо когато Алма среща 20 години по-възрастния от нея и вече прочут композитор и диригент Густав Малер, който след шеметно едноседмично уажване я превръща в “госпож� Малер�, тя приема изцяло, макар и със съпротива, която така и не я напуска докрая, неговите условия - да се откаже от опитите си да композира, за да може да му се посвети всецяло, накратко � да престане да бъде личност. От перспективата на днешния ден сме наясно, че подобни уговорки рядко завършват добре. Към края на краткия си живот Малер успява да се отърси от остарелите си разбирания и да види в жена си нещо повече от сянка, която ражда деца и преписва партитури. За това изиграва роля и сблъскът с Новия свят, на чийто фон композиторът изпъква нелепо, както подобава на човек от вече отминала епоха.
Съществуват достатъчно биографични данни, че Малер е обичал много жена си, така, както той го е разбирал и могъл при целия си творчески егоцентризъм. Може би неговата млада и хубава съпруга също е извличала чисто човешка суета и социален престиж от факта, че е спътница на велик мъж. Но 20 години съпружеска разлика в преломни времена означава женитба на два свята � стар и нов, с всички тежки сблъсъци, които произтичат от този факт. “Екстаз� е за драмата на тази връзка, предадена изцяло през очите на съпругата, и въпреки че житейската биография на Алма продължава още 50 години след смъртта на Густав, книгата приключва именно с нейното овдовяване. Нейната личностна и творческа еманципация е вече завършена. Алма продължава, този път без самоизвинения, да вдъхновява други велики мъже, без да се принася в жертва и без да губи себе си.
Алма, по баща Шиндлер, по мъж Малер, по съпруг номер две Гропиус, а с номер три и Верфел. Музата на виенския артистичен елит, пленителна и загадъчна като от картина на Климт (също неин поклонник), Алма е силно творческа, ще рече сложна, натура, която събира в себе си противоречията от границата между две епохи. “Екстаз� е приятна и ненатрапчива книга, която директно повдига завесата към личния свят на тази забележителна жена.
Накъдреният сецесион като доминираща естетика до Първата световна война издига еснафска Виена до културен център и артистичен еталон в Европа. Това е градът, в който се подвизават артисти от всички краища на Хабсбургската империя � космополитен, но малък и уютен едновременно. Период, в който може би за първи и за последен път, Виена “им� значение�.
Но ако в изкуствата Виена изпъква с модерност, същото не може да се каже за обществените нрави � максималното, на което една талантлива и амбициозна жена с артистични аспирации може да се надява, е съмнителната от морална гледна точка титла “муза� на някой прочут художник, композитор или писател. За неомъжените и посветили се на професията си жени е запазено специално място на кушетката на доктор Фройд. Разбираемо, те не могат да бъдат други, освен “трети пол�, незадоволени и истерички, неизпълнили своето изконно женско предназначение.
Ето защо когато Алма среща 20 години по-възрастния от нея и вече прочут композитор и диригент Густав Малер, който след шеметно едноседмично уажване я превръща в “госпож� Малер�, тя приема изцяло, макар и със съпротива, която така и не я напуска докрая, неговите условия - да се откаже от опитите си да композира, за да може да му се посвети всецяло, накратко � да престане да бъде личност. От перспективата на днешния ден сме наясно, че подобни уговорки рядко завършват добре. Към края на краткия си живот Малер успява да се отърси от остарелите си разбирания и да види в жена си нещо повече от сянка, която ражда деца и преписва партитури. За това изиграва роля и сблъскът с Новия свят, на чийто фон композиторът изпъква нелепо, както подобава на човек от вече отминала епоха.
Съществуват достатъчно биографични данни, че Малер е обичал много жена си, така, както той го е разбирал и могъл при целия си творчески егоцентризъм. Може би неговата млада и хубава съпруга също е извличала чисто човешка суета и социален престиж от факта, че е спътница на велик мъж. Но 20 години съпружеска разлика в преломни времена означава женитба на два свята � стар и нов, с всички тежки сблъсъци, които произтичат от този факт. “Екстаз� е за драмата на тази връзка, предадена изцяло през очите на съпругата, и въпреки че житейската биография на Алма продължава още 50 години след смъртта на Густав, книгата приключва именно с нейното овдовяване. Нейната личностна и творческа еманципация е вече завършена. Алма продължава, този път без самоизвинения, да вдъхновява други велики мъже, без да се принася в жертва и без да губи себе си.
November 23, 2018
Nebuvo jau taip blogai, bet kai matai vienodą tuo pat metu skaitytų "Esekso slibino" ir "Ekstazės" goodreads reitingą, tai kyla noras jį pakoreguoti.
Sausa, plokščia, pseudoekstazė, isterija, narcisizmas, išlepinimas, susigalvoti išgyvenimai, įsikalbėtas talentas, bandymas bet kokiomis aplinkybėmis prisiplakti prie svetimo talento ir iš to kylanti kančia.
Akiračio praplėtimui - gerai. Gustavas Maleris, Gustavas Klimtas, kt. O ar ten tikrai taip viskas buvo, tai čia jau klausimas.
Sausa, plokščia, pseudoekstazė, isterija, narcisizmas, išlepinimas, susigalvoti išgyvenimai, įsikalbėtas talentas, bandymas bet kokiomis aplinkybėmis prisiplakti prie svetimo talento ir iš to kylanti kančia.
Akiračio praplėtimui - gerai. Gustavas Maleris, Gustavas Klimtas, kt. O ar ten tikrai taip viskas buvo, tai čia jau klausimas.
May 10, 2018
Author Mary Sharratt has a mission: " Writing women back into history." In 2012 she focused on 12th-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen in ILLUMINATIONS, showing us a woman expected from a young age to submit herself quietly to God but who refused to lose her identity completely and was a composer, herbalist, mathematician and feminist of her times. In 2016 I read THE DARK LADY'S MASK about Aemilia Bassano Lanier, writer and poet, believed to be William Shakespeare's love and an unrecognized collaborator on several of his plays.
Now Sharratt has turned her attention to early-1900s Vienna and Alma Schindler, daughter of famous artist Emil Schindler. Alma is beautiful and musically talented. Men are drawn to her. She received her first kiss from Gustav Klimt. Max Burckhard, Joseph Olbrech, Felix Muhr and others flirted with her, some may have proposed marriage. Alexander von Zemlinsky was one of her musical mentors and her first serious love, whom she might have married if not for two reasons: (1) He was too poor to please her mother, and (2) She met more famous Gustav Mahler and was overwhelmed by him.
So somewhat star-struck, Alma chose to marry Mahler, even knowing that he, unlike Zemlinsky, who encouraged her talent, would expect her to have only one profession after marriage: "...to make me happy...You must surrender yourself to me unconditionally." And she does. But from then on we watch Alma suffer and lament her choices. Sharratt has done extensive research to write this story of Alma's unsatisfying, artistically-suppressed life with Mahler. Not only using information from biographies, she has also mined the words of the two main characters themselves in Gustav Mahler's LETTERS TO HIS WIFE and Alma's 1940 memoir, GUSTAV MAHLER: MEMORIES AND LETTERS, in particular.
Using all this research, Sharratt has painted an extremely detailed picture of 1900s Vienna and the world of music and the arts. This makes for an interesting read. What doesn't work for me is the tediousness of having to listen to Alma's laments and complaints over and over, time after time. We are supposed to believe that her dissatisfaction is the result of unfulfilled dreams of artistic growth and professional recognition. And, yes, there was the legitimate complaint that Mahler did not take her talents seriously, but the whinging woe-is-me attitude that came across in this book was more a "boo-hoo, he doesn't really love me enough or appreciate me and all I do for him."
And he didn't. He was an egotistical, self-absorbed man. When he ignored Alma, she was unhappy and looked for attention elsewhere. When he noticed her, she wasn't and didn't. This felt not so much like artistic dissatisfaction as personal love life dissatisfaction as presented in Sharratt's story.
This book basically ends with the death of Mahler, followed by a very few pages sketching her later life and artistic endeavors. Mahler died in 1911. Alma died in 1964. I would have enjoyed reading more extensively about Alma's years when she was no longer living in Mahler's shadow, the time when she seemed to come into her own. As it is, this book dwells so long on the Alma-Mahler relationship that it often felt more like a melodramatic romance novel than historical biographical fiction.
Now Sharratt has turned her attention to early-1900s Vienna and Alma Schindler, daughter of famous artist Emil Schindler. Alma is beautiful and musically talented. Men are drawn to her. She received her first kiss from Gustav Klimt. Max Burckhard, Joseph Olbrech, Felix Muhr and others flirted with her, some may have proposed marriage. Alexander von Zemlinsky was one of her musical mentors and her first serious love, whom she might have married if not for two reasons: (1) He was too poor to please her mother, and (2) She met more famous Gustav Mahler and was overwhelmed by him.
So somewhat star-struck, Alma chose to marry Mahler, even knowing that he, unlike Zemlinsky, who encouraged her talent, would expect her to have only one profession after marriage: "...to make me happy...You must surrender yourself to me unconditionally." And she does. But from then on we watch Alma suffer and lament her choices. Sharratt has done extensive research to write this story of Alma's unsatisfying, artistically-suppressed life with Mahler. Not only using information from biographies, she has also mined the words of the two main characters themselves in Gustav Mahler's LETTERS TO HIS WIFE and Alma's 1940 memoir, GUSTAV MAHLER: MEMORIES AND LETTERS, in particular.
Using all this research, Sharratt has painted an extremely detailed picture of 1900s Vienna and the world of music and the arts. This makes for an interesting read. What doesn't work for me is the tediousness of having to listen to Alma's laments and complaints over and over, time after time. We are supposed to believe that her dissatisfaction is the result of unfulfilled dreams of artistic growth and professional recognition. And, yes, there was the legitimate complaint that Mahler did not take her talents seriously, but the whinging woe-is-me attitude that came across in this book was more a "boo-hoo, he doesn't really love me enough or appreciate me and all I do for him."
And he didn't. He was an egotistical, self-absorbed man. When he ignored Alma, she was unhappy and looked for attention elsewhere. When he noticed her, she wasn't and didn't. This felt not so much like artistic dissatisfaction as personal love life dissatisfaction as presented in Sharratt's story.
This book basically ends with the death of Mahler, followed by a very few pages sketching her later life and artistic endeavors. Mahler died in 1911. Alma died in 1964. I would have enjoyed reading more extensively about Alma's years when she was no longer living in Mahler's shadow, the time when she seemed to come into her own. As it is, this book dwells so long on the Alma-Mahler relationship that it often felt more like a melodramatic romance novel than historical biographical fiction.
June 4, 2017
Read an advance copy of this and loved it. I've been fascinated with Alma Mahler every since I first learned of her life years ago—ECSTASY captures the romantic intensity of Alma's life. Bittersweet and compelling. More to come closer to publication.
August 20, 2018
I saw Stephanie @ Bookfever’s book review of this one, and knew I had to read it for myself as well! It didn’t hurt that this book had such a beautiful cover (many thanks to the publisher for the gorgeous hardcover!) and that it is a historical fiction about a historical figure I hadn’t heard anything about before. Learning through reading is one of my favourite things to do.
Alma, the main character, has a very strong female voice. I would really say that feminism is one important theme in this book, but not in that it practices it all the time. But because everything that happens makes you see why feminism is important, and makes you question whether or not Alma has made the right choice in every situation she faces. Alma herself, seems to have very feminist thoughts which could be determined as unusual or unrealistic for her time. However, the author has clearly done her research because she quotes sections of Alma’s real diary which back up her fictional actions as well. You can see how Alma’s feminist streak is also fuelled by the hopefully Renaissance period that she is in.
Alma does a lot of traveling in this book and I liked that it felt like we went everywhere with her. She travels quite a bit within Europe, to Austria and Venice and other places too. But it was when she travelled to America that I felt the distinct shift in mood, setting and atmosphere to go with it. I loved that transformation and getting to hear about what she thought of such a different culture and way of life to the one she grew up in.
Alma is a composer and adores music, much like her husband as well. I love my music and am always listening to something, including classical music from time to time. I don’t know much of anything about composing, but it didn’t distance me from the reading experience at all. Her love for art and her passion about what she loves to do jumped out of the pages to me. I also see reading and writing as my own form of art, and I loved that she inspired me to do what I love even more. I was so engrossed in the art, music and composing even though I’m not usually into those things! I ended up listening to the operas she mentions in the book while reading to deepen my experience. I recommend you do the same.
The book gets right down to the business of romance with her first affair. The first love story comes hard and fast, but that more so has to do with the fact that we are meeting a young, underdeveloped Alma. She transforms a lot in the novel and her relationships deepen. So, if you are put off by the first love story, hold out. As she becomes more mature, the love stories improve too.
There were a lot of themes in this one. I feel like the themes of motherhood and the difficulties of being a mother, grief, being a wife but also being an individual, feminism and responsibility were all really well developed and discussed. I felt like the theme of depression was brushed over at first, but then comes back later on in the novel and gets more depth too. In fact, the themes and its character driven nature make me compare this one to Circe by Madeline Miller, except it’s not a mythology retelling but it’s a historical fiction.
It also made me think about adultery in a way I never had done so before. I don’t even know what I think about Alma and Gustav Mahler as a couple really. Their relationship was so toxic but at the same time there is clearly love there� I’m not sure what to think. You know this is one thought provoking novel for sure! I can’t wait to read more of Mary Sharratt’s work.
Relevance to today: I think this novel is a good one for showing how motherhood and being a wife is not easy and comes with its own sacrifices and troubles which can make it very hard on the woman who feels responsible for her family. I also think it really showed an interesting relationship. It was so twisted that I don’t even know what to make of it. One worth reading to make up your own mind about it and to learn about Alma Mahler.
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe:
Alma, the main character, has a very strong female voice. I would really say that feminism is one important theme in this book, but not in that it practices it all the time. But because everything that happens makes you see why feminism is important, and makes you question whether or not Alma has made the right choice in every situation she faces. Alma herself, seems to have very feminist thoughts which could be determined as unusual or unrealistic for her time. However, the author has clearly done her research because she quotes sections of Alma’s real diary which back up her fictional actions as well. You can see how Alma’s feminist streak is also fuelled by the hopefully Renaissance period that she is in.
Alma does a lot of traveling in this book and I liked that it felt like we went everywhere with her. She travels quite a bit within Europe, to Austria and Venice and other places too. But it was when she travelled to America that I felt the distinct shift in mood, setting and atmosphere to go with it. I loved that transformation and getting to hear about what she thought of such a different culture and way of life to the one she grew up in.
Alma is a composer and adores music, much like her husband as well. I love my music and am always listening to something, including classical music from time to time. I don’t know much of anything about composing, but it didn’t distance me from the reading experience at all. Her love for art and her passion about what she loves to do jumped out of the pages to me. I also see reading and writing as my own form of art, and I loved that she inspired me to do what I love even more. I was so engrossed in the art, music and composing even though I’m not usually into those things! I ended up listening to the operas she mentions in the book while reading to deepen my experience. I recommend you do the same.
The book gets right down to the business of romance with her first affair. The first love story comes hard and fast, but that more so has to do with the fact that we are meeting a young, underdeveloped Alma. She transforms a lot in the novel and her relationships deepen. So, if you are put off by the first love story, hold out. As she becomes more mature, the love stories improve too.
There were a lot of themes in this one. I feel like the themes of motherhood and the difficulties of being a mother, grief, being a wife but also being an individual, feminism and responsibility were all really well developed and discussed. I felt like the theme of depression was brushed over at first, but then comes back later on in the novel and gets more depth too. In fact, the themes and its character driven nature make me compare this one to Circe by Madeline Miller, except it’s not a mythology retelling but it’s a historical fiction.
It also made me think about adultery in a way I never had done so before. I don’t even know what I think about Alma and Gustav Mahler as a couple really. Their relationship was so toxic but at the same time there is clearly love there� I’m not sure what to think. You know this is one thought provoking novel for sure! I can’t wait to read more of Mary Sharratt’s work.
Relevance to today: I think this novel is a good one for showing how motherhood and being a wife is not easy and comes with its own sacrifices and troubles which can make it very hard on the woman who feels responsible for her family. I also think it really showed an interesting relationship. It was so twisted that I don’t even know what to make of it. One worth reading to make up your own mind about it and to learn about Alma Mahler.
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe:
April 10, 2018
I jumped on reading this book because of the author before I knew anything at all about the book. I’ve read several of Ms. Sharratt’s books and enjoyed them so I was excited at the prospect of a new one. When it arrived and I read the synopsis I was intrigued. I will admit to knowing nothing about Alma Schindler Mahler and very little about her husband, Gustav. So I will admit that I did some googling and I listened to both of their compositions while I read the book. I felt that was appropriate background music.
This IS Alma’s story but Gustav plays an out sized role in her life an in the novel. He almost sucks the life out of her. I have to admit that he really annoyed me � but I suppose anyone with a great talent will be temperamental and a bit crazed at given times. Add that to the way women were treated at this period in time and it’s a recipe for a talented woman to lose herself in doing the expected. For that is what Alma fought against; she was a woman with many passions and her personality did not fit the model for the perfect little woman of her day. She felt she had two paths; marry and have children or be a spinster, pursue her music and be one of the dreaded “third sex.� A woman who is trying to be a man.
Alma was a great beauty in her day and she had no dearth of suitors but she wanted love and passion. Her mother who lived a less than secure life wanted security for her even at the cost of love. Alma, at least in this tale seemed to fall in love with any man that was totally unsuitable for her. Even Mahler while acceptable was not financially stable.
Ms. Sharratt develops her Alma in a way you would expect a sheltered teenager to behave. The character is a mass of contradictions and at times very unlikable. But she is a strong woman who believes in her talent until told by a man that she doesn’t have any. Like so many women before her and after her she learns her own self and comes out stronger for it. Whether she comes out wiser. well you will have to decide.
The book is a delight to read, full of passion and pain, love, hate and joy. Ms. Sharratt brings Vienna from the turn of the 20th century alive. The good and the bad. I read the book over the course of a day. It grabbed me and just wouldn’t let me go. I also learned that I enjoy Gustav Mahler’s music very much.
4.5
This IS Alma’s story but Gustav plays an out sized role in her life an in the novel. He almost sucks the life out of her. I have to admit that he really annoyed me � but I suppose anyone with a great talent will be temperamental and a bit crazed at given times. Add that to the way women were treated at this period in time and it’s a recipe for a talented woman to lose herself in doing the expected. For that is what Alma fought against; she was a woman with many passions and her personality did not fit the model for the perfect little woman of her day. She felt she had two paths; marry and have children or be a spinster, pursue her music and be one of the dreaded “third sex.� A woman who is trying to be a man.
Alma was a great beauty in her day and she had no dearth of suitors but she wanted love and passion. Her mother who lived a less than secure life wanted security for her even at the cost of love. Alma, at least in this tale seemed to fall in love with any man that was totally unsuitable for her. Even Mahler while acceptable was not financially stable.
Ms. Sharratt develops her Alma in a way you would expect a sheltered teenager to behave. The character is a mass of contradictions and at times very unlikable. But she is a strong woman who believes in her talent until told by a man that she doesn’t have any. Like so many women before her and after her she learns her own self and comes out stronger for it. Whether she comes out wiser. well you will have to decide.
The book is a delight to read, full of passion and pain, love, hate and joy. Ms. Sharratt brings Vienna from the turn of the 20th century alive. The good and the bad. I read the book over the course of a day. It grabbed me and just wouldn’t let me go. I also learned that I enjoy Gustav Mahler’s music very much.
4.5
March 23, 2018
My Review of “Ecstasy� by Mary Sharratt
I loved everything about the Historical Fiction novel “Ecstasy� by Mary Sharratt. The timeline for this story is the turn of the century, when the various forms of the arts show changes. The story goes to the past and to the future when it pertains to the characters or events. The story takes place in Vienna, Austria, Europe, and and New York
Mary Sharratt describes her characters as complicated and complex. Many are talented and artistic in many ways. This is a time where passion can be seen in art, music, theater, opera and dance. There are a few courageous and brave women that are able to break through in the male dominated arts.
Alma Schindler has been brought up in a talented household. Her father was a famous painter, her stepfather is also an artist, and her mother was an opera singer. From an early childhood, Alma has played the piano. Her passion for composing music shows as she enters young adulthood. Alma turns many heads when she goes to the Opera house. Unfortunately, it is a time where a young woman is supposed to get married and have responsibilities with her family. Alma wants so much more. She wants to learn more about rhythm, counterpoint and wants to compose an opera.
Although Alma wants to compose, she also wants to love and be loved. How can Alma share her compassion for anything but music? Alma is impressed by Gustav Mahler, and soon becomes his wife. Gustav Mahler has made it clear, there is no place for Alma’s composing in their life together.
I appreciate the way that the author describes the feminist spirit in her writing. She also writes about the balance of being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and a composer. I would recommend this story for readers of Historical Fiction. I received an ARC for my honest review.
I loved everything about the Historical Fiction novel “Ecstasy� by Mary Sharratt. The timeline for this story is the turn of the century, when the various forms of the arts show changes. The story goes to the past and to the future when it pertains to the characters or events. The story takes place in Vienna, Austria, Europe, and and New York
Mary Sharratt describes her characters as complicated and complex. Many are talented and artistic in many ways. This is a time where passion can be seen in art, music, theater, opera and dance. There are a few courageous and brave women that are able to break through in the male dominated arts.
Alma Schindler has been brought up in a talented household. Her father was a famous painter, her stepfather is also an artist, and her mother was an opera singer. From an early childhood, Alma has played the piano. Her passion for composing music shows as she enters young adulthood. Alma turns many heads when she goes to the Opera house. Unfortunately, it is a time where a young woman is supposed to get married and have responsibilities with her family. Alma wants so much more. She wants to learn more about rhythm, counterpoint and wants to compose an opera.
Although Alma wants to compose, she also wants to love and be loved. How can Alma share her compassion for anything but music? Alma is impressed by Gustav Mahler, and soon becomes his wife. Gustav Mahler has made it clear, there is no place for Alma’s composing in their life together.
I appreciate the way that the author describes the feminist spirit in her writing. She also writes about the balance of being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and a composer. I would recommend this story for readers of Historical Fiction. I received an ARC for my honest review.
August 14, 2018
Mary Sharratt’s Ecstasy is a compelling novel that immediately entrances the reader into the life of Alma Schindler. Alma is a talented fledgling composer in Vienna in the early 1900’s. Her parents wish to marry her off to a man that meets their standards while Alma searches for a passionate love in the music world. She meets Gustav Mahler, a well-known composer and they have a whirlwind romance. However, he requires that she give up all aspirations of becoming a published composer. The book details Alma’s continuous struggles with love, ambition, and life’s heartbreaks. I struggle to offer a comparison to this book as it was a one of a kind jewel!
November 13, 2017
It's hard to imagine a more glorious subject for a biographical novel than the passionate and spirited composer Alma Mahler. Since receiving an Advanced Reader Copy, I've been engrossed and mesmerized by Alma's story, reading it in the wee hours of the night. What a character, what a life, and what a book Mary Sharratt has created!
February 7, 2020
This book did not do justice to Alma as portraying her as a female composer in a man’s world. Rather, it pays more attention to Alma’s love life than her accomplishments. I thought most of the characters were flat and lacking in depth. Despite these flaws, the novel was very well-written and heavily researched.
May 10, 2018
Seeking to supplement a famous man's public persona with intimate detail, authors of historical fiction often choose the man's wife to narrate his story. It's not often that the woman herself has the potential to rival her husband's brilliance, but such is the situation Mary Sharratt explores in her latest novel, ECSTASY (HMHBooks, April 2018). Written from the close third-person perspective of Alma Schindler Mahler, wife of composer Gustav Mahler and a gifted composer in her own right, ECSTASY examines Alma's difficult position in turn-of-the-twentienth-century Vienna. In an era and locale where women were still expected to surrender their own aspirations to the duties of marriage and motherhood, Alma suffers tremendous anguish as she attempts to reconcile her musical ambitions with her awe of her husband's genius.
The novel covers the years 1899 to 1911, from Alma's nineteenth summer through the year of Mahler's death. Though Alma would outlive her husband by half a century to lead a colorful, liberated existence in Austria and New York, it is the years she spends in Mahler's shadow that determine the future course of her life. Daughter of a noted painter, Albert Schindler, and stepdaughter of Carl Moll, one of the founding artists of the Vienna Secession, Alma grows up surrounded by artists and intellectuals. Encouraged by her parents, she studies piano and composition and has composed a series of lieder for piano and voice by the time she meets Mahler in 1901. After a whirlwind courtship, she marries the much-older conductor in 1902, only to abandon her studies when Mahler insists there be only one composer in the family. The bulk of the novel details Alma's struggle to subjugate her ambition and desires to the dictates of her husband's artistic life and marital expectations. The demands of motherhood, tragedy, and her husband's work schedule and frequent touring sap Alma of her mental and physical strength until she finds herself at the brink of a breakdown. Only then, having lost her grip on her true self, does she find the courage to engage in behavior that forces Mahler to reevaluate their relationship and the validity of his wife's talent and dreams.
Sharratt faces a difficult task in capturing the essence of this contradictory woman, by turns meek and courageous, passive and pioneering. A fundamental ambivalence defines Alma: she relishes her role as helpmate and muse, facilitator of her husband's genius, even as she increasingly resents how catering to his needs forces her to deny her own. At times, this ambivalence renders her frustratingly submissive; at others, she commits rash, impulsive actions that almost defy explanation. The thread that binds Alma's warring selves together, that creates a whole from contradictory parts, is ecstasy: the ecstasy she experiences listening to her husband's glorious music crash over the concert hall; the elation she finds in furtive composing and amorous dalliance; the rapture she and Mahler share at intimate moments of their difficult but enduring relationship. Just as Mahler incorporates cowbells and hammerblows into symphonies of voice and instrument, to stunning effect, Sharratt probes the limitations and frustrations of Alma's marriage in order to better celebrate the ecstasy of life lived in unbounded appreciation of creative beauty.
Luscious in language and beautiful in execution, ECSTASY is a novel to savor. Though the belle époque world it evokes in brilliant detail might be distant in time, the challenge Alma faces--that of extracting her self from the confines of duty and expectation to relish the fullness of life--is one that women continue to face today. Alma Schindler Mahler--muse, mother, and musician--can help them triumph.
The novel covers the years 1899 to 1911, from Alma's nineteenth summer through the year of Mahler's death. Though Alma would outlive her husband by half a century to lead a colorful, liberated existence in Austria and New York, it is the years she spends in Mahler's shadow that determine the future course of her life. Daughter of a noted painter, Albert Schindler, and stepdaughter of Carl Moll, one of the founding artists of the Vienna Secession, Alma grows up surrounded by artists and intellectuals. Encouraged by her parents, she studies piano and composition and has composed a series of lieder for piano and voice by the time she meets Mahler in 1901. After a whirlwind courtship, she marries the much-older conductor in 1902, only to abandon her studies when Mahler insists there be only one composer in the family. The bulk of the novel details Alma's struggle to subjugate her ambition and desires to the dictates of her husband's artistic life and marital expectations. The demands of motherhood, tragedy, and her husband's work schedule and frequent touring sap Alma of her mental and physical strength until she finds herself at the brink of a breakdown. Only then, having lost her grip on her true self, does she find the courage to engage in behavior that forces Mahler to reevaluate their relationship and the validity of his wife's talent and dreams.
Sharratt faces a difficult task in capturing the essence of this contradictory woman, by turns meek and courageous, passive and pioneering. A fundamental ambivalence defines Alma: she relishes her role as helpmate and muse, facilitator of her husband's genius, even as she increasingly resents how catering to his needs forces her to deny her own. At times, this ambivalence renders her frustratingly submissive; at others, she commits rash, impulsive actions that almost defy explanation. The thread that binds Alma's warring selves together, that creates a whole from contradictory parts, is ecstasy: the ecstasy she experiences listening to her husband's glorious music crash over the concert hall; the elation she finds in furtive composing and amorous dalliance; the rapture she and Mahler share at intimate moments of their difficult but enduring relationship. Just as Mahler incorporates cowbells and hammerblows into symphonies of voice and instrument, to stunning effect, Sharratt probes the limitations and frustrations of Alma's marriage in order to better celebrate the ecstasy of life lived in unbounded appreciation of creative beauty.
Luscious in language and beautiful in execution, ECSTASY is a novel to savor. Though the belle époque world it evokes in brilliant detail might be distant in time, the challenge Alma faces--that of extracting her self from the confines of duty and expectation to relish the fullness of life--is one that women continue to face today. Alma Schindler Mahler--muse, mother, and musician--can help them triumph.
March 5, 2019
Puiki knyga 😀
December 27, 2021
Roman zasnovan na historijskim činjenicama o poznatoj austrijskoj kompozitorici Almi Šindler. Jako lijep prikaz žene koja se bori za emancipaciju u svijetu muškaraca.
April 30, 2018
"Ecstasy" is the story of Alma who has played muse to many men that you may have heard of: Walter Gropius, Gustav Klimt, Gustav Mahler, among others. Although her story has often been in the liner notes of the lives of these great creators, Alma was fascinating in her own right as the author shows. This is a fascinating story that sucked me in!
You may have heard me say this before but one of the things that I like about historical fiction the most is that it often looks at people and their lives that you wouldn't find in a history book. For so much of our past, what makes it into the history books has been largely limited to what men do, specifically white men. I think we are beginning to fix this (very, very slowly) but we are getting better at representing others in history. There is a lot of historical fiction that has the power to keep pushing us that way, including this book. Even though Alma played a role in history, I had never heard of her before. I'm glad this book changed that!
Alma is a fascinating character in her own right! She dreams of being a great composer and although that world had largely been closed off for women but Alma really believes that the world is changing. Unfortunately as she finds, it hasn't changed enough to let her truly fulfill her dreams. I loved how Sharratt wrote her character. She really made her come to life!
I loved the historical detail that the author included! Since I wasn't familiar with Alma, I really appreciated the details of what her world would have been like and what she might have been like. This was great!
You may have heard me say this before but one of the things that I like about historical fiction the most is that it often looks at people and their lives that you wouldn't find in a history book. For so much of our past, what makes it into the history books has been largely limited to what men do, specifically white men. I think we are beginning to fix this (very, very slowly) but we are getting better at representing others in history. There is a lot of historical fiction that has the power to keep pushing us that way, including this book. Even though Alma played a role in history, I had never heard of her before. I'm glad this book changed that!
Alma is a fascinating character in her own right! She dreams of being a great composer and although that world had largely been closed off for women but Alma really believes that the world is changing. Unfortunately as she finds, it hasn't changed enough to let her truly fulfill her dreams. I loved how Sharratt wrote her character. She really made her come to life!
I loved the historical detail that the author included! Since I wasn't familiar with Alma, I really appreciated the details of what her world would have been like and what she might have been like. This was great!
February 11, 2021
Jei ją būtų parašę ir išvertę tada, kai man buvo 16 metų, ji ko gero būtų buvusi viena iš tų knygų, kur patinka, ir gal net labai patinka, ale biškį sarmata pasakyt apie tai, kiek patinka. Panašiai kaip su paskutinio XX a. dešimtmečio meksikiečių muilo operom - visos mano aplinkos bendraamžės žiūrėjo, visos bandėm apsimesti, kad labai juokinga ar nieko rimta ten, visos turėjom savo mėgstamus veikėjus ir scenas, visos jas žiūrėdamos svajojom apie tobulą meilę.
Ir kaip dabar nieko ypatinga nebepamatyčiau tuose serialuose, taip nieko labai ypatinga nebemačiau šioje knygoje. Tačiau manau, kad maždaug 15-18 metų merginoms, jei skaitoma kartu su aptarimu, ji gali būti visai gera pradžia pagalvoti apie santykius ir savo talentus, pasirinkimus ir kas iš jų galiausiai išeina. O Almos ir Gustavo istorija yra puikus psichologinio smurto pavyzdys, iš tiesų toks puikus, kad praktiškai mokymams kaip iliustraciją galima naudoti.
Ir kaip dabar nieko ypatinga nebepamatyčiau tuose serialuose, taip nieko labai ypatinga nebemačiau šioje knygoje. Tačiau manau, kad maždaug 15-18 metų merginoms, jei skaitoma kartu su aptarimu, ji gali būti visai gera pradžia pagalvoti apie santykius ir savo talentus, pasirinkimus ir kas iš jų galiausiai išeina. O Almos ir Gustavo istorija yra puikus psichologinio smurto pavyzdys, iš tiesų toks puikus, kad praktiškai mokymams kaip iliustraciją galima naudoti.
June 25, 2018
Such a tragic, challenging and difficult life was had by Alma Schindler Mahler, wife of famous composer and conductor, Gustav Mahler. She was born into a Viennese bourgeois family. Her father was a renowned landscape painter and her mother, an opera singer. With such artistry in one home, how could Alma avoid her own artistic leanings? She was a bright, stunning young woman, a skilled pianist and an aspiring composer. Her first composition teacher did not encourage her. Her second did but may have had ulterior motives; she wasn't sure. And then there was Gustav Mahler. She was as captivated by him as he was by her. However, he insisted on her giving up her own music, embracing his and calling it theirs. This was the start of their tumultuous marriage. Such squelching of one's spirit cannot be endured forever and ultimately results in unfortunate consequences.
Previous biographies have not looked kindly on Alma Mahler. She was a modern woman brought into a less modern world at the tail end of the 19th century. Author Mary Sharratt offers the reader a fictional account with a more human approach to the complex person of Alma Mahler. It is based on fact through Sharratt's extensive research. Ms. Sharratt presents a young Alma eager to please her mature and older husband. She lives for him and yearns for his approval. Why wouldn't she; she's only 20? As her eyes were opened, his were not and therein lies the rub.
This was a beautifully written account of the Mahlers' lives, mostly through Alma's perspective. The prose is elegant and one is thoroughly transported to a different time and place. The story was truly an emotional roller coaster - the highs so high and the lows so very devastating.
As a musician with a fondness for Mahler, I personally was enthralled to read about the historic performances of his famous works, especially the choral pieces which I have had the pleasure to perform.
Thank you Ms. Sharratt for giving voice to a woman of great achievement who could so easily have been lost to the annals of history.
I am grateful to Ms. Sharratt and publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
Note: I was rather curious about the dust jacket's artwork. It looked so much like something of Alphonse Mucha (and is often assumed to have been done by him). However, according to various sources on the internet, it is actually the work of Louis Théophile Hingre. (The original artist was not noted in the book's design credits.)
Previous biographies have not looked kindly on Alma Mahler. She was a modern woman brought into a less modern world at the tail end of the 19th century. Author Mary Sharratt offers the reader a fictional account with a more human approach to the complex person of Alma Mahler. It is based on fact through Sharratt's extensive research. Ms. Sharratt presents a young Alma eager to please her mature and older husband. She lives for him and yearns for his approval. Why wouldn't she; she's only 20? As her eyes were opened, his were not and therein lies the rub.
This was a beautifully written account of the Mahlers' lives, mostly through Alma's perspective. The prose is elegant and one is thoroughly transported to a different time and place. The story was truly an emotional roller coaster - the highs so high and the lows so very devastating.
As a musician with a fondness for Mahler, I personally was enthralled to read about the historic performances of his famous works, especially the choral pieces which I have had the pleasure to perform.
Thank you Ms. Sharratt for giving voice to a woman of great achievement who could so easily have been lost to the annals of history.
I am grateful to Ms. Sharratt and publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.
Note: I was rather curious about the dust jacket's artwork. It looked so much like something of Alphonse Mucha (and is often assumed to have been done by him). However, according to various sources on the internet, it is actually the work of Louis Théophile Hingre. (The original artist was not noted in the book's design credits.)
September 3, 2018
Mary Sharratt's novelization of Alma Mahler is as rich as many of the characters therein. Alma longs to follow her passion for music but the times and attitudes of most of those around her hold her back. Marrying Gustav Mahler, a leading composer and conductor of the day, complicates her life in dozens of ways, as well. The lavish setting of Vienna with its well-heeled, colorful characters~albeit with myriad flaws in both people and mores of the era~plays out a bit like a film, replete with characters~and music~ we know, like Alma, her husband, and even an early suitor of hers, the artist Gustave Klimt. One can only hope for Alma as she tries to follow her bliss~and cheer for her with each little victory.
February 25, 2018
A fascinating look at the life of Alma Mahler née Schindler, married to Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius and Franz Werfel, all three creative geniuses. Who was Alma? A daughter, sister, mother, wife, lover, composer, femme fatale, muse? Certainly a complex woman ahead of her time who defied convention to find her own voice.
June 22, 2018
This was okay. Alma is written as an overly melodramatic person - constant hand wringing about wishing she were a man so she could enjoy everything that men are allowed. Overwrought as well about her feelings of passion she wanted to act upon, again wishing she were a man to do so. So it was an okay story, it's writing was too "overly" done for the most part - if that is making any sense.
June 1, 2019
I really enjoyed the book as a light and easy read, however it didn't seem special to me in any way. Yet I do believe that if you go into the book with some prior knowledge or interest in Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel, any other big names in the book or music history in general - you would certainly be able to get way more out of this book than I have.
April 12, 2018
Oh, to sense the heights. To be a mountain. To be great and expansive, bursting with potentiality.
I signed up for the blog tour of Ecstasy because the synopsis sounded incredible and right up my alley. In the last year I've become really intrigued with books set in the early 20th century, especially if the setting is in Vienna and if the story revolves around a real woman in history like Alma. She definitely wasn't a perfect character. She had her flaws and problems but even so I hadn't expected to fall in love with this brilliant book the way I did. I even read until 2:00 pm to finish the story just because I didn't want to put the book down and stop reading.
The story is about Alma Schindler (later Alma Mahler), who more than anything wants to be a sucessful composer. When she meets the nearly twenty years older and accomplished composer Gustav Mahler, they fall for each other. But for their marriage his condition is that she gives up her music so that there's more room for his own, essentially. This causes Alma to be utterly torn between her passion for composing and her love for Gustav.
I can't quite put my finger on what exactly made this book so good. Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, the complex character of Alma, the artistic men she came in contact with and who all seemed to be enchanted by her, the bittersweet element of the story, the writing... I just loved it all.
It also doesn't happen often but I ended this book with tears in my eyes. This just shows how totally taken I was with it. I'm so glad the author put the spotlight on Alma Mahler the way she did in this amazing story. I want more people to also read this book and hopefully also fall in love with it the way I did.
Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt was one amazing and beautifully written story. I honestly fell in love with it from the very first page and continued being completely hooked throughout the whole novel. It was just phenomenal!
I signed up for the blog tour of Ecstasy because the synopsis sounded incredible and right up my alley. In the last year I've become really intrigued with books set in the early 20th century, especially if the setting is in Vienna and if the story revolves around a real woman in history like Alma. She definitely wasn't a perfect character. She had her flaws and problems but even so I hadn't expected to fall in love with this brilliant book the way I did. I even read until 2:00 pm to finish the story just because I didn't want to put the book down and stop reading.
The story is about Alma Schindler (later Alma Mahler), who more than anything wants to be a sucessful composer. When she meets the nearly twenty years older and accomplished composer Gustav Mahler, they fall for each other. But for their marriage his condition is that she gives up her music so that there's more room for his own, essentially. This causes Alma to be utterly torn between her passion for composing and her love for Gustav.
I can't quite put my finger on what exactly made this book so good. Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, the complex character of Alma, the artistic men she came in contact with and who all seemed to be enchanted by her, the bittersweet element of the story, the writing... I just loved it all.
It also doesn't happen often but I ended this book with tears in my eyes. This just shows how totally taken I was with it. I'm so glad the author put the spotlight on Alma Mahler the way she did in this amazing story. I want more people to also read this book and hopefully also fall in love with it the way I did.
Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt was one amazing and beautifully written story. I honestly fell in love with it from the very first page and continued being completely hooked throughout the whole novel. It was just phenomenal!
April 8, 2018
How many people reading this review of Mary Sharratt's novel, "Ecstasy". remember the work of a singer-songwriter popular in the 1960's named Tom Leher? He wrote satirical songs about famous people and events, one of whom was a Viennese temptress named Alma Schindler Mahler Gropius Werfel. His song about ASMGW became one of his best known because the woman behind the song led such an interesting life - full of music, art, and writing...and sex. Now Mary Sharratt's novel dishes on Alma-of-the-many-names-and-husbands.
Sharratt's novel covers Alma's full life, from her beginning as a young Viennese woman - considered local talent by the local swains - to her death in 1964 at the age of 85 in New York City. She was associated either as a wife or lover of many of the most important men in Central Europe.(I think that line is from the Leher song; I can't get it out of my mind). Sharratt does a good job at telling of Alma's life with a great amount of romantic language that can only be used in a work of fiction. I might have enjoyed it a bit better had the book been written as non-fiction but then maybe a woman like Alma NEEDS flowery prose to describe her. In any case, Sharratt's book is quite enjoyable.
Sharratt's novel covers Alma's full life, from her beginning as a young Viennese woman - considered local talent by the local swains - to her death in 1964 at the age of 85 in New York City. She was associated either as a wife or lover of many of the most important men in Central Europe.(I think that line is from the Leher song; I can't get it out of my mind). Sharratt does a good job at telling of Alma's life with a great amount of romantic language that can only be used in a work of fiction. I might have enjoyed it a bit better had the book been written as non-fiction but then maybe a woman like Alma NEEDS flowery prose to describe her. In any case, Sharratt's book is quite enjoyable.
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