Anna Maria della Pieta is an orphan, passed through a hole in the wall of the Pieta as a baby she has known no other life. However, when she picks up a violin at age eight she finds her vocation. Able to see the colours of notes, she becomes a virtuoso, joining the famed convent orchestra and rising to become first violinist under her teacher, a renowned composer. Anna Maria can compose as well but when her teacher finds out he destroys her works and Anna Maria vows vengeance.
The character of Anna Maria is a real-life one, a maestro from 17th century Venice almost forgotten now. Her teacher, Antonio Vivaldi, is not named here and her story almost forgotten. Constable has woven a really engaging book around the scant facts and one with a bit of personality, Anna Maria is definitely no insipid orphan. A solid piece of work.

I really do love stories with a historical context, and this is set around the composer Vivaldi in the early 1700s – and the orphanage of young girls where he taught music.

Anna Maria feels herself destined for the greatness of ‘maestro’ status from an early age, and does everything to grasp every opportunity in what can be a vicious and bullying environment.

I loved the characters in this story, and the real feel for history – who knows how many women in history have been ignored because of their status, and this just demonstrates the possible.

A remarkable debut novel.

Why does this historical fiction about an actual historical figure have to be so heavy on the fiction that you wonder whether the actual historical person, Anna Maria della Pieta, is supposed to be a time traveller?

This could have been a wonderful read, but it was soured by the twenty-first century antics of the main character. Anna Maria's over the top believe in herself from very early in her life just didn't work for me. I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story and started skimming before the chapters reached the double digits.

I couldn't read this as an ebook for some reason so will get it when it comes out! Sorry! (Leaving a 4 star review to be fair.)

unfortunately, i found this pretty trite and repetitive. i can imagine lots of people enjoying this though - detailed and shimmery and nice enough to be appealing. a beach read. a book your mum reads in the bath.

Anna Maria della Pietà’s story is remarkable, and Harriet Constable does a commendable job bringing her to life. For me, historical fiction succeeds when it prompts me to dive into research, and this book does just that, focusing on Anna Maria's collaboration with Antonio Vivaldi. While the dialogue may be fictional, the essence of Anna Maria’s extraordinary talent shines through; she lived to 86 and captivated many with her music, while Vivaldi gained fame—perhaps because female composers often fade from public memory.

Anna Maria’s story is one of ambition and unwavering determination to succeed, highlighting the personal costs that accompany her relentless pursuit of greatness.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Not only the story of a young girl fighting all of a despicable sexist, misogynist European 19th century culture, housed in a Catholic home for orphans run by nightmarish nuns, but also the story of the musical genius residing in a young girls heart .. her reacher steals her compositions as his own and only through fierce combat does she get recognition. I
Despite this novels acclaim I just found the melodramatic drops all-too- familiar .. the girl friends in the v Convent school are inseparable too except when one disappears aftercare pregnancy (natch!) .. the worrying is fine enough, evocative and nuanced just ridden with 'mellerdrama'..

'On the horizon, Venice is a flat, silent land, the islands like discarded clothes floating on the skin of the sea. But as they draw closer, it changes shape. It is lifted into mountains of sound: the canals the strings, the islands the body; vibrating and melding, clanging and whistling; a giant instrument of a place.'

Harriet Constable’s debut novel ‘The Instrumentalist’ is audaciously colourful. It is a novel about synaesthesia, using as its vehicle the violin playing of the historical figure, Anna Maria della Pietà. Descriptions of her sound-as-colour synaesthetic experience of music are the most innovative and captivating passages in the novel; I think I could’ve read a whole book of just that, and been satisfied. As a backdrop and a foil to this colour, the eighteenth-century Venice of ‘The Instrumentalist’ is rendered often grim, even savage in its immediacy. Either way, purple passages of each form of description are why I kept on reading, when I repeatedly felt like giving up on the book.

Like ‘The Flames’ by Sophie Haydock a couple of years ago, ‘The Instrumentalist’ is one of those pieces of Historical Fiction based on the lives of real figures from history for which you have to discard aforeknown fact and suspend all disbelief, and I have to say, I found it as unconvincing as I did ‘The Flames’.

In a manner not dissimilar to Haydock’s representation of Egon Schiele’s relationships portrayed in that novel, the relationship between Anna Maria and her music teacher in ‘The Instrumentalist’ is uncomfortable to the point of problematic. Not just because it depicts a young girl’s suffering at the hands of her abuser, but rather because, in the character of Anna Maria della Pietà, Harriet Constable transposes a kind of prototypical twentieth-century or twenty-first century narrative onto the Seventeen Hundreds.

Constable’s Anna Maria, a young girl of prodigious talent and aspiration, certainly might have shined in a contemporary novel by Joanne Harris, say, or Kate Atkinson, where her sass and her zest could really spark as her rebellion against societal norms for pre-teen and teenage girls is explored and spun out. But, for this book, our protagonist is gratingly anachronistic, and it dulled the whole effect for me. An eight-year-old claiming that the death of an adoptive sister is a necessary sacrifice to achieve musical greatness? I really think Harriet Constable lost the run of herself a bit with this one!

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the eARC.

Can you name a piece of classical music written by a woman? This is a sublime debut that transported me along the murky canals of Venice at the turn of the 1700s to the Ospadale della Pieta, an orphanage run by nuns. Abandoned baby girls are posted through a hole in the way every day. Anna Maria is one of hundred of girls to grow up in the Ospadele, but Anna Maria believes she is different. The Ospadele is famous for its musical groups, like a Venetian Vienna’s Boys Choir. Just with more confinement, corporal punishment and isolation. Pre-teen Anna crosses paths with a musician we know to this day, Vivaldi, a new teacher in the Ospadele. She is immediately drawn to the energy and passion that they share for the violin. Anna Maria has a natural ability to communicate through the violin and she matches this talent with an unbridled ambition to become a leading light on the European music stage. We journey through the maze of canals, seeing the tragic reality for so many of the women living there; their lives dependent on their bodies. The light this book so brightly shines on the disregard for a woman’s capabilities is hard to look away from. The pacing is slow with the characters gradually revealing their depths. Anna Maria is at times unlikeable but deeply understandable in her actions given the direction she receives from those guiding her. It’s an important reminder of the centuries/millenia that women have existed without recognition for their talents. The Instrumentalist looks at the army of women who made Vivaldi who he was. I’lll never be able to listen to the Four Seasons without thinking of Anna Maria and the other remarkable women who’s names have largely been forgotten. The structure reminds me of a concerto - a dramatic, memorable opening, a lyrical and slower paced middle section, with a rousing and heart racing finale. This debut novel should be a must reader for any lover of historical fiction or classical music. Thanks so much to Bloomsbury publishing for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Easily one of my favourite books this year.

I have read this ARC with a view to providing a review
All opinions and thoughts are my own

A new author to me
I must admit it was the stunning cover that drew me in

This didn't disappoint

Loved it

This was a beautifully written piece of historical fiction based on a true story of which I previously knew nothing about & I'm so glad I now know about it.

Beautifully almost lyrical writing in a stunning setting with wonderfully characters and a story of hope and resistant.

Would highly recommend.

What a lively and interesting approach to the famous music of Vivaldi.
As a violinist I was already aware of the Ospedale della Pieta where unwanted babies were left and if they were musical, were trained to an extraordinarily high standard. The orchestra of the Pieta was famous and will always be remembered – by anyone who knows of Vivaldi anyway. And given the period and the social mores of the time, it’s a given that those young women and children were exploited.
So this story is about one of those young women who fought to make her own life from her music with both the help and the obstruction of Antonio Vivaldi. And it really works – the writing is perfect for the story and leads to an understanding of just how much those children risked and achieved and how close was the danger of a fall into the worst kind of poverty – for women – the kind where you cannot keep your children or yourself. The writer doesn’t hesitate to show both the worst and the best that could happen to a musician, depending on their skill and circumstances and their charisma.
The music and the realities of different kinds of life are brilliantly juxtaposed without ever losing the continuity of this particular story. It’s really very well done. I loved it and I recommend it both for the (well researched) historical insight and the story of Anna Maria.

Anna Maria della Pieta was born in 1696, but her mother couldn't keep her so she posted her through a wall of an orphanage in Venice. The girls in that orphanage were all given music lessons and Anna learnt the violin.

Anna was a real person who became a great violinist taught by the composer Antonio Vivaldi, this is a fictionalised account of her life. It was absolutely spell binding.

CW/TW: Mentions of death, child abandonment, body injuries, and subtle hints of grooming.

My Bookish Thoughts 💬
Wow. What a stunning debut! Harriet Constable writes with the finesse of a seasoned, award-winning author. The Instrumentalist is a symphony of words—captivating, lyrical, and utterly enthralling. I was swept away by the vivid, magical setting of Venice and the brilliantly crafted storyline.

I fell in love with Anna Maria, the orphaned violin prodigy whose resilience and determination light up the pages. Her unique gift of seeing music in colour was beautifully described, and the dynamics between the orphan girls—friendships, rivalries, heartaches—added so much depth.

This incredible novel had won pride and place in my all time favourites. Honestly, nothing I write will do this novel justice, so I urge you to pick up a copy and experience its beauty for yourself!

Big thanks to Net Gallery, Bloomsbury Publishing and the author for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 🙏🏼

I enjoyed this beautifully written work of historical fiction, based around the true story of Anna Maria della Pieta, an orphan in early 17th century Venice, and who likely composed many of Vivaldi's famous pieces.
Hard to believe that this was a debut novel!

I really enjoyed this fictional account of the life of Anna Maria Del Pièta, a baby posted through a tiny window of the convent by a desperate woman, who rose to become a successful violinist and protégé of Vivaldi. I was completely unaware of her existence before I picked up this book, and although the fictitious reinvention of her as a feminist is likely untrue, it’s a way to reinvigorate history and to tell to stories of forgotten women.
Vivaldi is portrayed as bit weird, and this does seem to be congruent with what was known at the time. It does seem that his greatest compositions were probably devised with some collaboration from the incredibly musical girls at the convent, who were groomed for success.
I rattled through this, it’s very readable and has introduced me to a story I didn’t know. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A lusciously written tale of Venetian music, set in the Pietà orphanage when Vivaldi taught there as a music teacher - our main character is Anna Maria della Pietà, one of the female orphans who was posted through the gap in the wall of the orphanage as a baby and brought up on music - this is the way poor women got rid of their babies in Venice during the period, and the Pietà, although an orphanage and severe, also gave girls an amazing education, particularly in music, and was home to an extremely famous all-female orchestra known as the Figlie di Coro - literally ‘the daughters of the choir’. Such was their musical prowess that the book centres on the idea that some of the orphans may have actually even helped write Vivaldi’s masterpieces. It must be stressed that this is a sort of ‘what if’ imagining, and is in no way based in fact - it’s a plausible scenario dreamed up by the author. It is fact, however, that Anna Maria was a virtuoso violin player and extremely talented, whether or not she ever composed her own music, or helped Vivaldi with his, so it sort of made me uncomfortable that the book needed to embellish her in any way, or to attribute something real in a way that may not be true. I also wasn’t keen on the fact that her tutor, Vivaldi, is never named in the book - similar to Hamnet, the author decides he’s so famous he doesn’t need to be mentioned - it always feels a bit glaring that we are reading an entire book about a ‘him’. One thing I did like, which seems to be a common method of writing about music, is the way Anna Maria sees notes as something visual, as colour. It allowed the writing to really shine, as it needs to when describing intensely beautiful music. An interesting snapshot into a unique historical period and place, and an enjoyably sensory read.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written fictional memoir of a real life person, Anna Maria de La Pieta, a musician brought up in a Venetian orphanage in the eighteenth century. A gifted violinist, she soon catches the attention of her teacher, the composer Vivaldi, who isn’t named in the book but whose works are embellished by Anna and the young musicians in his orchestra and for which they are not credited. The story gives a good portrayal of eighteenth century Venetian life and its characters though the section on Casanova seemed a bit superfluous.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Wow. What a stunning book!
I love Venice and know it well, so it is always a pleasure to find an author who writes about Venice having done a lot of research and got the basic geography correct! As well as, in this case, a lot of historical research.
Because of that, I could simply sit back and enjoy the story. And what a story it was. Admittedly a slow burner at first, and there are a few passages not directly in the story that may seem slightly confusing, but all is revealed in time.
It did get to a point, however, when I literally could not put the book down, and if forced to, then I was thinking about it pretty much all the time until I could pick it up again. This did make for a couple of very late nights!
But what a pleasure it was to read this amazing story, and to be told at the end which bits were based on real life (most of it!) and which were slight author's licence.
Anyone who loves Venice, music, history, or just great stories, will love this novel.
I do hope this clever author sets another story in Venice, and I look forward to it, if so!!

Celebrating creativity, ambition, and the power of friendship and connection, this is a powerful exploration of those who are written out of history. The layering of details and glimpses into lives build to make a world that is vivid and immersive, wrapping you up in the streets of Venice and the secrets of the characters.
Ultimately hopeful, feminist and fulfilling, this is one of those books that scratches at your brain when it’s not in your hands. I really didn’t want to put it down.