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. 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. 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. `Not only fetchingly funny, but also craftily plotted.' The Scotsman `Great fun is had with real and imagined historical personages.' Irish Times `Tremendous period skulduggery' Sunday Times