The Bridgetower Sonata: Sonata Mulattica (HC) (2021)

In this vividly imagined historical novel, acclaimed Congolese author Emmanuel Dongala has focused his laser-sharp wit on the life and times of George Bridgetower, a young violin prodigy, who, at the age of nine, took the courtly world of 18th century Europe by storm--and surprise, given the youth's unusual origins: for George was of mixed-race parentage, known in the parlance of the day as a mulatto. Though his opportunistic father and de facto manager was Barbadan and dark-skinned, while his mother was a Polish handmaiden in the Viennese court, this young virtuoso, proclaimed as the "Black Mozart," was welcomed into the high society of Tout-Paris on the eve of the French Revolution. After he and his opportunistic father fled to England, George became a court favorite of the Prince of Wales where his fame spread widely across Europe. He eventually arrived in Vienna and became close friends with Ludwig Van Beethoven, but fell out of grace due to an errant remark about the composer's love interest. Brimming with lively detail and dialogue and with cameo appearances from historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Haydn, William Herschel, and others.