-
Seasonal Offer:
This title is part of our Seasonal Offers promotion.
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The story that inspired the classic musical, The Sound of Music. Baroness Trapp tells the dramatic story of the family, her own marriage to Baron Von Trapp, a widower with seven children, and the family's successful singing career both before and after they fled Austria after the Nazi invasion.
About the Author
Maria Augusta Kutschera was born on a train en route to Vienna on January 26, 1905. She was brought up by an elderly cousin when her mother died aged two. She experienced a lonely and very strict upbringing. It was during a visit to a church concert that her mind was changed when she heard the words of a well-known priest, Father Kronseder. Her meeting with him led to her entering a convent to become a nun. While she was devoted to the convent life, she was taken away from the outdoor activities she once thrived on. Her doctor, concerned that her health was failing, helped the nuns to decide to send Maria to the home of retired naval captain Georg Von Trapp, to be governess to his bedridden daughter. On November 26, 1927, Maria and Georg were married. She died in Vermont in 1987.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
SOMEBODY tapped me on the shoulder. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
SOMEBODY tapped me on the shoulder. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
`The Story Of The Trapp Family Singers' spans roughly the quarter century from the mid 1920s up to the end of the 1940s and is divided into 2 parts. Part 1 [the first 110 pages or so] roughly covers the period between Maria leaving Nonnberg monastery to join the Trapp family and closing with the momentous decision to leave Austria at the outbreak of war, incorporating her marriage, the family's loss of fortune and the start of their singing career. Part 2 picks up the story as they approach New York and goes on to describe 10 years of their lives as a professional singing group, settling down in Vermont, the death of the captain and the establishment of what would become the Trapp Family Lodge ski resort.
It is probably reasonable to assume that almost anyone showing an interest in this book does so because of a desire to learn of the background to `The Sound Of Music`. In many ways the musical is faithful to the book, at least in essence, though don't be surprised to learn that a great deal of invention was employed, especially with the children who bear little relation to their real life counterparts. The main complaint is in the film's depiction of Georg as cold and aloof, something the family has been at pains to contradict ever since!
Much like the musical, the book has a high `feel good' factor: it is infused with a rosy glow of goodness and warmth in which there is little room for negativity, and even less for any complaint or criticism, despite sudden reverses of fortune. Don`t expect any dirty linen to be aired here! Maria's easy-going prose style is wonderfully fluid and accomplished: it gladdens, it saddens, and sometimes it amuses, but always it enchants.
Progressively, the reader becomes aware that the young free-spirited guitar-toting novitiate has become a strong and formidable woman capable of leading a large family, and perhaps dominating the captain who quickly recedes to a background role. It is clearly her drive and determination, and sheer force of character, that enabled the family to achieve almost the impossible, and was probably responsible for holding it together for so long.
The book is liberally festooned with descriptions of the family's religious rituals and Maria's own faith as a devout Catholic, which can appear `preachy` at times. Some readers may find these aspects a touch excessive, yet it is part-and-parcel of the lady's character, and as such this old sceptic found it acceptable.
The smaller Part 1 is the most relevant to `Sound Of Music' fans who will undoubtedly be entertained by scrutinising it in detail for similarities, discrepancies and surprising subtleties. Overall, it is an interesting and entertaining book that will handsomely reward both die-hard fan and casual reader alike.
Of course, there is more outside the scope of this book: for further information on Maria's life, see her autobiography Maria which describes her upbringing as well as later years in USA; the wonderful memoirs of eldest daughter Agathe von Trapp Memories Before and After The Sound of Music are extremely interesting and highly recommended, particularly for a description of the family's earlier years before Maria arrived.
It is probably reasonable to assume that almost anyone showing an interest in this book does so because of a desire to learn of the background to `The Sound Of Music`. In many ways the musical is faithful to the book, at least in essence, though don't be surprised to learn that a great deal of invention was employed, especially with the children who bear little relation to their real life counterparts. The main complaint is in the film's depiction of Georg as cold and aloof, something the family has been at pains to contradict ever since!
Much like the musical, the book has a high `feel good' factor: it is infused with a rosy glow of goodness and warmth in which there is little room for negativity, and even less for any complaint or criticism, despite sudden reverses of fortune. Don`t expect any dirty linen to be aired here! Maria's easy-going prose style is wonderfully fluid and accomplished: it gladdens, it saddens, and sometimes it amuses, but always it enchants.
Progressively, the reader becomes aware that the young free-spirited guitar-toting novitiate has become a strong and formidable woman capable of leading a large family, and perhaps dominating the captain who quickly recedes to a background role. It is clearly her drive and determination, and sheer force of character, that enabled the family to achieve almost the impossible, and was probably responsible for holding it together for so long.
The book is liberally festooned with descriptions of the family's religious rituals and Maria's own faith as a devout Catholic, which can appear `preachy` at times. Some readers may find these aspects a touch excessive, yet it is part-and-parcel of the lady's character, and as such this old sceptic found it acceptable.
The smaller Part 1 is the most relevant to `Sound Of Music' fans who will undoubtedly be entertained by scrutinising it in detail for similarities, discrepancies and surprising subtleties. Overall, it is an interesting and entertaining book that will handsomely reward both die-hard fan and casual reader alike.
Of course, there is more outside the scope of this book: for further information on Maria's life, see her autobiography Maria which describes her upbringing as well as later years in USA; the wonderful memoirs of eldest daughter Agathe von Trapp Memories Before and After The Sound of Music are extremely interesting and highly recommended, particularly for a description of the family's earlier years before Maria arrived.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a refreshing view of family life that is exemplary. A great deal more of the spiritual character of Maria and the Trapps are seen in this book than was even hinted at during the movie. Throughout the book the reader can rejoice in the love and understanding of people that Maria von Trapp has. The Trapp children readily sacrifice and work to make it during the hard times. Maria says that the family that sings together, plays together, and prays together usually stays together.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I wanted to cry after reading this, which is unusual for me. Maria Augusta's Trapp's honesty as she shares her struggles of adjusting to new social groups is amazing. This book offers insights into what culture shock is truly like; so it would be great for the social sciences, especially multicultural educatiion.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Inspirational - much better than the movie
I had waited to read this book for several years and was overjoyed to finally get a copy. This book is inspirational, well written, funny but conveys such a depth of examplary... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Uenna
informative read
As I am about to partake in the musical I thought I would prepare myself with a little insight . Very informative, very interesting
Published 13 months ago by Kathleen S. Kenyon
Intriguing, Entertaining, But Incomplete
It's been a while since I've read this book, and I realize now that Maria Von Trapp wrote it in the style of an earlier time in which the main characters look unfailingly noble. Read more
Published on 24 May 1999
I cried my heart out, Laughed my tears out
I was so suprised when I discoverd a tatterd copy on my mothers shelf. The movie is so diffrent from the story. I liked the movie but Johannes,Lorli, and Rosemary were forgotten. Read more
Published on 8 May 1999
The best book I have ever read.
The Sound of Music is my favourite film I have seen it at least 25 times. But when I read the real story I liked it more. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 1999
Should be a traditional reading requirement, of excellence.
This book tells the real story of the Trapp Family Choir, as it started, and ended, the beginning(first couple pages) was slow but picked up speed rappedly, the further you... Read more
Published on 27 Sep 1998
An inspiring adventure- better than the movie!
This adventure is full of human laughter, tradition, and inspiration. The true story greatly surpasses "The Sound of Music" in humor, candor, and joy. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 1997
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music
- Books > Biography > Historical
- Books > Biography > Religious
- Books > Biography > Women
- Books > History > Religious History > Other Religions
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Folk Music
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
