Dead Mr Mozart

It is 1820 and George IV has just assumed the throne. An ageing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is intrigued by the prospect of a coronation scenting rich pickings. As a child he had visited England with his family in 1764 but instead of returning to Austria and an early death (as orthodox music history relates) they stayed on deluded by a piece of royal generosity - the result of a misunderstanding of guttural royal English. Now Mozart conducts his own meretricious rubbish at a London theatre but dreams of having one more 'real' opera staged before he dies.<br><br>However the trial of George IV's wayward queen for adultery before the Lords leads Mozart into dangerous - and indeed murderous - waters. Insulted (most graciously) by the King the composer finds himself involved in disposing of an inconvenient corpse and initiating enquiries to uncover the murderer . . . a matter which seems of remarkably little consequence to everyone else.<br><br>This diverting and perplexing piece of alternative history is a delightful addition to our knowledge of the great composer and to the output of Bernard Bastable also known to crime fans as Robert Barnard.<br><br>'Not only fetchingly funny but also craftily plotted.' <i>The Scotsman</i><br><br>'Great fun is had with real and imagined historical personages.' <i>Irish Times</i><br><br>'Tremendous period skulduggery' <i>Sunday Times</i>