Book Review: Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran
The name Maria von Trapp immediately draws to mind the heartwarming images of Julie Andrews singing to the hills of Austria, creating clothes out of curtains, or marching the streets of Salzburg with seven children following behind. Those images are from the beloved 1965 movie The Sound of Music…which is based on a 1959 Broadway musical by the famous duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein…which is based on a 1956 German movie called Die Familie Trapp…which is based on the life of Maria von Trapp. (I didn’t know it was quite so complicated either.)
Maria von Trapp was the matriarch of The Trapp Family Singers, a singing group that found fame in Austria and then moved to the United States and continued to sing and travel across the country. Made up of the seven chidlren of Maria and Georg Riter von Trapp, the group was talented and unique. And Maria herself drew attention when she wrote a book about their life, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, and people realized their incredible story (hence the movies, musicals, and books).
This novel by Michelle Moran, Maria, is a fictional account set at the time Rodgers and Hammerstein are writing their famous musical. Hearing that they are writing this musical, Maria von Trapp shows up to their offices in New York City insisting on telling them the real story so that they can accurately portray her life, her family, and her husband.
While I consider myself a Sound of Music fan and thanks to my Mom’s love for Julie Andrews and singing, I did know a few things about the von Trapp Family singers, but I still feel like like I learned quite a bit from this story–I didn’t know the details of Maria’s relationships with her children and step-children as they grew and traveled, I didn’t know how inaccurately the Captain was portrayed, and I didn’t know what Maria really thought of the musical. I, of course, recognize that this book is still a novel, but Michelle Moran, an author known for writing historical fiction based on real strong women, did her research, so while the exact conversations may have been fictionalized, they were based on fact.
Although it was interesting and I learned from it, I did still have two main issues with the book:
- The story was a little hard to follow. There are varying perspectives and it jumps in timeframes. While I know that happens in historical fiction, it was hard to follow in this one.
- I was left a little sad with what I learned about Maria von Trapp. While I know no one is perfect, I wanted the Julie Andrews version to be real, but, as is often the case, that was just in the movies.
Book: Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp
Author: Michelle Moran
Format: Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Places Featured: New York City, Austria
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (rounded up)
*I was given a version of this book for free in exchange for an honest book review.
