An orphan with no voice but an extraordinary musical gift. A man of music who discovers her gift. Heartsong is a spellbinding tale about the healing power of music, set against the mystery and beauty of Venice.
“Destined to be a future classic” Manchester Evening News
“This is a spectacular book… a quiet, heart-soaring triumph” Big Issue
“A very special present for music-loving readers” The Times
Abandoned at the orphanage in Venice as a baby, Laura has never spoken. Her life is transformed when the composer Vivaldi unlocks her passion for music. The seasons turn, dark turns to light and miracles happen.
Carnegie award-winning author Kevin Crossley-Holland makes every word a master stroke. This short novel is exquisitely illustrated by acclaimed artist Jane Ray. Her work is inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the real girls and boys who lived and laughed and worked in the Venetian orphanage.
“Destined to be a future classic” Manchester Evening News
“This is a spectacular book… a quiet, heart-soaring triumph” Big Issue
“A very special present for music-loving readers” The Times
Abandoned at the orphanage in Venice as a baby, Laura has never spoken. Her life is transformed when the composer Vivaldi unlocks her passion for music. The seasons turn, dark turns to light and miracles happen.
Carnegie award-winning author Kevin Crossley-Holland makes every word a master stroke. This short novel is exquisitely illustrated by acclaimed artist Jane Ray. Her work is inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the real girls and boys who lived and laughed and worked in the Venetian orphanage.
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Reviews
This is a jewel of a book carefully crafted by two experienced master storytellers who have worked together to create a memorable life affirming story based around the power of music to transform lives.
Crossley-Holland's limpid prose matches Ray's diaphanous watercolour images perfectly, evoking 18th-century Venice in all its gaudy grandeur and bringing to life someone who would not otherwise have been even a footnote in history
Award-winner Kevin Crossley-Holland is a beautiful writer and this haunting story is simply stunning. Destined to be a future classic, it is complimented by the exquisite illustrations by Jane Ray
Ray's illustrations are exquisite. A very special present for music-loving readers aged seven and above
Vivaldi's Four Seasons provides the background to an elegant story of a mute girl's discovery of her voice.
This is a spectacular book ... it is part social history, part mystery and part haunting love story ... A quiet, heart-soaring triumph
A lovely curiosity ... This is Kevin Crossley-Holland's take on her story, with poinant, detailed drawings by Jane Ray
A ravishing object and a touching poetic tale ... Altogether lovely
This very special short novel is a work that could surely unlock poetry in the soul of the most pragmatic reader