This biography takes the reader through the main stages of Chopin's life (1810-1849), while providing glimpses of political and cultural developments of the era. The large-format glossy book uses Chopin's letters to family and friends as the prime source of information and is illustrated with over 225 colour images. -
Three chapters have been added to document an unexpected discovery. That is: Chopin lived apparently through a secret and dramatic romance in 1848-1849 with Jenny Lind, the 28-year old famous soprano and wealthy philanthropist known as the Swedish Nightingale. -
The authors explain why it must have been Jenny Lind, who proposed to Chopin in the fall of 1848, and who gave Chopin an anonymous gift of 25,000 francs in July 1849. Chopin literature has previously identified the suitor and benefactor as Jane Stirling, a 44-year old Scottish spinster and Calvinist and a former pupil of Chopin. The authors show how an erroneous translation of a Chopin letter may have led to this assumption. -
The "Chopin in the World" journal (2003/2004) praises the biography: "This is a novelty in the book market not only because of the beautiful quality of the publication, but also because of content". The authors' subsequent in-depth research in 2004-2009 has confirmed their initial findings and uncovered new and surprising aspects of Chopin and Jenny Lind's secret relationship. -
Book income is donated to the global fight against tuberculosis. Chopin died apparently of this infectious disease. The director-general of the World Health Organization has signed an inscription in "CHOPIN and The Swedish Nightingale".
