The Woman Who Wouldn't: A Novel

The beloved actor and screenwriters second novel set in 1903 stars a young concert violinist named Jeremy Webb who one day goes from accomplished adagios with the Cleveland Orchestra to having a complete breakdown on stage. If he hadnt poured a glass of water down the throat of a tuba maybe he wouldnt have been sent to a health resort in Badenweiler Germany. But its in that serene place that Jeremy meets Clara Mulpas whom he tries his hardest to seduce. . Clara is so beautiful that Jeremy finds it impossible to keep from trying to find a chink in her extraordinary reserve and elegance. He finds himself reflexively flirting to get a reaction―after all a tease and a wink have always worked before with women back home. But flirting probably isnt the best way to appeal to a woman who was married to a dumb brute and doesnt want to have anything more to do with men. Jeremy isnt sure how to press his case―but he wont give up. . Wilders prose is elegant spare and affecting. But its his romantics eye for the intense emotions that animate a real love story that makes The Woman Who Wouldnt an unforgettable book.