“Writing about music is like painting a watercolor in black and white. You must hear music to feel the color, to connect to the soul of the musician.”
―Elizabeth Allan Kellam, Author
Elizabeth Allan Kellam
Author of immersive historical fiction inspired by the lives, music, and hidden passions of history’s greatest composers and musicians.
Author Bio
Novels About Musicians Were Never Meant To Be Silent
Experience the world of Frédéric Chopin through a novel that allows readers to hear the music woven throughout the story.
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Click here to read or download Chapter 1 and listen to Chopin’s music as the story begins to unfold.
Why This Book Exists
It Started With A YouTube Video on Chopin’s Barcarolle
Around midnight one evening I came across a video on YouTube in which Ben Laude, a classical music podcaster was talking to Garrick Ohlsson, a well-known American piano virtuoso and chairman of the 2025 Chopin Competition in Warsaw Poland. Listening to their discussion about Chopin’s Barcarolle, was fascinating.
They were talking about his work as if he might be arriving at any moment to join them so they could ask him questions about the story behind it. They were wondering exactly who inspired this sensual piece at this stage of his life. He was still with George Sand, but was this written for her or someone else?
A Compulsion to Unravel A Mysterious Romance
I added my own questions to theirs. What could have possibly led this young, naive, genius composer to begin a love affair with the older, notorious, polyamorous writer and mother of two children? How is it possible that they lived together for almost ten years? How and why did it all end?
Frédéric Chopin
George Sand
Most available biographies about both of them are rich with details about their characters and lives, but light on the details of their romance. George Sand had burned all of her correspondence with Chopin after the bitter end of the affair. And Chopin went to great lengths to hide all evidence of the scandalous affair, lest his family find out about it.
I was determined to fill in the pieces of their story that the biographers had largely ignored. This involved quite a bit of research into sources which were unavailable even a few years ago, many of them in French archives. My French-German language major in college definitely helped. And traveling to Paris and Nohant-Vic where they spent their winters and summer, respectively, provided the atmospheric backdrop against which the story would unfold.
Decoding The Hidden Messages In Chopin's Music
As I delved into the research and tried to understand Chopin, I realized that his story was right there in plain sight – in his music. His melancholy, his hopes, his anger, his wishes for the liberation of his home country. Musicologists have spent decades looking into the meaning and emotions contained within each piece, so this offered an entirely new and rich source of information. As I began to stitch together dates, events and the emotions expressed in his music, a luxuriant saga began to unfold. It was then that I realized that music would be an essential part of understanding Chopin and his hidden emotions.
A New Way To Experience Stories About Musicians
The Internet provided a unique opportunity to make the music an integral part of reading Chopin's story. I envisioned clickable links to a soundtrack embedded within the text. I tested the ebook version on the Kindle app, listening to the music on my phone and iPad and it worked! It works the same way with the print versions. Below is a sample of what the reader experiences when reading Chopin's Last Manuscript.
Editorial Reviews
Author Reviews
Reader Reviews
Compare to Amazon’s 5 star ratings for today’s best-sellers:
- Theo of Golden: 82%
- The Correspondent: 69%
- Hamnet: 63%
- Mona’s Eyes: 49%
Amazon summarizes the reader reviews as follows: “Customers find this book memorable and deeply engaging, with a story that draws them in from the beginning. Moreover, they appreciate how the author weaves Chopin’s music throughout the narrative, and one customer notes that you don’t need to be a classical music fan to enjoy it.”
“Prepare to be immersed in Chopin’s world! “What a beautifully drawn book! Chopin and the era he lived in, the people he associated with, all come to life on these pages. It felt visual as well as audible. The added plus of the music pulls the whole feeling together. (I listened to the music on my phone as I read the paperback book.) What a delightful escape!” ―KC
“A Haunting Love Letter To Chopin. This book shattered me in the best way. The dual timeline weaves together past and present so beautifully, and the passion between Chopin and George Sand leaps off the page. I felt transported to 1830’s Paris, then breathless uncovering secrets with the modern characters. It’s romantic, tragic, and utterly captivating – historical fiction at its finest.” ― Samuel
Author Bio
Beth Allan Kellam is the author of Chopin’s Last Manuscript, an immersive historical novel that blends archival history, literary fiction, and music into a unique reading experience in which readers can listen to the compositions woven throughout the narrative.
A former classical music student and longtime corporate marketing researcher, Kellam writes about the emotional and artistic lives of history’s great composers and cultural figures. Her work is especially drawn to the intersection of genius, ambition, exile, love, and creative obsession.
Inspired by her concert-pianist grandmother, Elise Harden, and by a lifelong fascination with the hidden stories of music history, Kellam is developing a planned series of novels exploring the lives and struggles of legendary musicians and composers.
Author at home in St. Augustine, FL