An unexpected and beautiful historical fiction that transports us to Venice, the 1700s, and chronicles the life of Anna Maria and her humble beginnings before rising to stardom as a violinist and composer. I was immediately drawn into Anna Maria's life, mind, and experiences as she broke barriers and set everything aside to achieve her dreams.

The Instrumentalist is a complex, nuanced fictionalized historical novel by Harriet Constable about the real-life Anna Maria della Pietà. Released 20th Aug 2024 by Simon & Schuster, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in third quarter 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a well written novel, engaging, and with sometimes luminous prose. The probable origin of Anna Marie, her upbringing, her discovery of music, and he notice and education by music maestro Antonio Vivaldi, all follow current accepted research. The author makes bold departures in her characterizations, endowing 8 year old Anna Marie with a surety and hubris (she knows she's destined for greatness from infancy) which surely were at vast odds with the reality of the time period and culture. Many of the secondary characters seem sketched in, vague outlines instead of believable living people with internal motivations and desires.

It's undeniably well written. There's not much there, however, to engage fanatical Vivaldi (or Anna Maria della Pietà) fans, or lovers of period music, or Venice, but if readers think of it less as a factual historical retelling, and more as a historical novel about Venice and music of the Baroque period written around a very loose framework of real history, it reads and engages much more easily.

Three and a half stars. It's a promising debut. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home readers, and possibly book club discussion.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Instrumentalist is a novel based on the real Anna Maria della Pietá, an orphan who was abandoned as a baby and grew up to be one of the greatest violinists of the 18th century. Since she was very young, she knew she was destined to be great. She had an extraordinary musical ability, being able to see the notes in her mind as colors that would explode and move her to compose moving pieces. Anna Maria started playing the violin with only 8 years old and it was as it she reunited with it from a past life. She started getting private lessons and playing in front of Venice's highest society. It was very admirable reading about Anna Maria's ambition to become the greatest, and her conviction that it was a matter of when, not if. This book is placed in the 1700s, so there was not a lot of freedom for women at the time, but Anna Maria's undeniable talent saved her from marriage and a domestic life to pursue the title of maestro. Such a good book, I enjoyed every second of it. I would love to watch this story on the big screen.

I really enjoyed this book. Based on a little know historical woman in music, the vivid descriptions of experiencing and creating music were stunning. A great read.

This book had so many elements that I loved: A debut novel, historical fiction and a female character! It is a captivating exploration of the human spirit, set against the backdrop of a world where music holds the power to heal and transform.

I loved learning about this time in history and as a huge fan of Vivaldi music the learning was even more interesting.

The themes of friendship, devotion and determination combined with the themes of grief, poverty, prostitution and overcoming the odds through music made it a complex book. I thought it was a well-researched and well written book and cannot wait for Harriet Constable's next book!

Thank you to Net Galley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance review copy.

First of all, fantastic cover that grabs attention immediately. The Instrumentalist was a crackling novel that evoked the exact response in my reading I was hoping for - divisive to discuss, and fascinating, oft-ignored subject matter. Inspiring but dark, heavy but unputdownable.

An intriguing premise but the writing was just not to my taste at all. Perhaps with a bit more fleshed out characters and stronger pacing this would have worked for me.

I tried to read this book but I couldn't get into it. It was atmospheric but the language also felt very cliche and dramatic for the sake of being dramatic instead of making me feel invested.

Really fascinating subject matter that I found myself wanting to share with others as I read...

This book is two things 1) An infuriating account of how Anna Maria's accomplishments were, in part, occluded by patriarchy/misogyny. 2) A celebration of her talent, work, and strength of spirit. I appreciated that the author was able to balance both shining light on the injustice, without making that negativity her entire story.

Anna Maria is a child for most of the book. That said, I think it can sometimes be hard for authors to write from the perspective of a child without the book itself becoming childish. For me, maturity/depth was a bit of an issue in the early chapters when Anna Maria was youngest, but much to the authors credit it improved as she aged.

Super solid, informative, and engaging read. Would recommend broadly to anyone that likes historical fiction, and/or books that center musical performance.

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable is a book I adored and believe should have gotten more exposure this year. It is a gripping work of historical fiction about Anna Maria della Pietà, a talented violinist in 18th-century Venice. I adore books about music/musicians, and this book shares about Anna's journey from orphan to musical prodigy. Readers also learn of her tumultuous relationship with the renowned Vivaldi. It's a strong choice for book clubs.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

The Instrumentalist
Harriet Constable

She sees music in rays of color. Sees her future as a prominent violinist. Sees her teacher as a means to get from where she is to where she is destined to be.

Anna Maria is just one of the many orphans being raised in Ospedale della Pietà. It is 1704 in Venice and the only thing keeping her from being who she wants to be is being offered to her for a price. A price she is too young to fully understand. A price far more valuable than she can afford.

I liked this book ok. I would’ve liked for it to make a less traditional approach to the storyline. It ended up being exactly what I expected it to be and not much more. There really wasn’t anything surprising and I didn’t have any big epiphanies or come to any new conclusions.

It was just ok.

I’m sorry this title didn’t work for me. I will check out what Constable writes next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy!

THE INSTRUMENTALIST…⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel is set against the richly detailed backdrop of early 18th-century Venice, with particular focus on the Ospedale della Pietà, a renowned home for orphaned girls. The historical context is impressively researched, offering what feels like an authentic glimpse into the era and the institution. However, the author acknowledges some historical liberties, particularly concerning composer Giuseppe Tartini. While these anachronisms might be forgivable, it’s arguable that Tartini’s role in the story could have been omitted with some creative adjustments.

The characterization, however, is where my reservations lie—particularly in the portrayal of the protagonist, Anna Maria, and Vivaldi himself. Anna Maria, the gifted violinist believed to have inspired some of Vivaldi’s concertos, lived her entire life within the Ospedale as a pupil, then as a teacher. Given the scarcity of details about her personal life, it’s understandable to fictionalize her character. Vivaldi, by contrast, is a better-documented historical figure, yet much about his daily life and relationships with his pupils remains unknown. This provides some room for creative interpretation, but it’s the depiction of Vivaldi in the latter part of the book that I found troubling.The story pivots on an act by Vivaldi that is shockingly cruel, driven by jealousy and spite. While the narrative builds up to this moment, it feels profoundly unfair to attribute such malice to a real person without historical evidence to support it. Although one historian has described Vivaldi as “difficult,” there’s no record to suggest he was capable of the vindictive behavior portrayed in the novel.

Historical novelists walk a tightrope between fact and fiction, but I believe they bear a responsibility to respect the legacies of real figures, portraying them no worse than what history records. In this case, the author seems to have crossed that line, which detracts from an otherwise intriguing and immersive setting.

The Instrumentalist
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: 3.5/5

One thing about me is that I love a girlhood historical fiction story! The Instrumentalist follows Anna Maria Della Pieta, real-life violinist of 18th century Venetian fame, through her childhood instruction by Vivaldi.

The writing was poetic and beautiful and, while it did not dive deep, it explored the ebb and flow and volatile emotions of girlhood friendships when they run against ambition.

Pros:
- I LOVE a story based on real life, especially about history’s forgotten female characters.
- Put more men on blast for their rotten behavior towards the less powerful women in their lives!

Cons:
- The figlie’s revenge at the end was a bit trite but without veering too far off the real historical record, I’m not sure what would have improved it.
- More Elisabetta! She was vaguely a villain at some parts and we got a tiny hint of her backstory, but I wish there was more depth to her.

As one who has lived and taught university in Italy, and as a fan of well-researched literary historically-based fiction, I had very high hopes for this novel. Perhaps too high. This publisher usually publishes top-quality historical fiction, which added to my high expectations. I've read just about every historical fiction book set in Italy (not the bodice-ripper kind of historical fiction, but the kind that enables you to learn about history). I tried several times to get into this book but could not get more than about 1/5 of the way into it. There were too many liberties taken with the historically-based story to keep me going (and I am usually pretty-patient with books). The writing also seemed a bit over-wrought to me...it seemed to veer too much into fiction and too far from history. Perhaps this will work better for someone else...it was not for me, unfortunately.

The Instrumentalist was a great read. I loved the character development and the writing was propulsive.

The instrumentalist was a fantastic book that depcited one of Vivaldi's maestro students. I apprecaited the story teling, the writing was beautiful. This was a riviting novel depicting relationships, synesthesia and the magic of music.

I love that this book is inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà. She was a Venetian orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi. But when he took credit for her musical compositions, she must decide if she'll run away and hide or fight back.
The book also introduced me to the women who inspired Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and other works. Men typically get credit for all major discoveries. But as the author points out, women are often behind the scenes or even the ones responsible for the invention.
This book is loaded with musical facts. As a guitarist and singer, I appreciated that educational aspect.
I also really liked all the facts about life in 1700s Venice. Often, the author included tidbits about diet, fashion, transportation, culture, careers, and customs. These sections fascinated me.
The book contains themes of friendship, family, trauma, and achievement.
Note: the content includes some slang and profanity, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and references to sexual abuse.

I learned of this book from NetGalley months before it was published however it was an NPR interview by Harriet Constable that put it on the top of my reading list. I was kicking myself for waiting so long. For me this novel is everything a good book should be: characters that are relatable and well-developed, a plot that keeps you engrossed from beginning to the end, and a history lesson. I've recommended it a dozen of my reader friends.

A beautifully written historical novel that transports readers to 18th century Venice. The novel sheds light on the gender dynamics of the time, making it a thought provoking read. It is a compelling story of ambition, resilience, and the pursuit of one’s dreams against all odds I admired Anna Maria and enjoyed her moments of triumph.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Some years ago, I ran across the story about Antonio Vivaldi (he of one of *the* most recognizable pieces of classical music in existence) leading an extraordinary orchestra of abandoned orphan girls in early 18th century Venice and thought it would make an excellent jumping off point for a novel. I never wrote that book, but Harriet Constable has found a way to bring that story to vivid life, though the eyes of Anna Maria della Pietà, a real young woman who came up through the figlie and became a celebrated violinist, composer and teacher.

There is some historical evidence the girls Vivaldi directed aided in composition. Constable takes that idea and runs with it, imagining Anna Maria not only helping their instructor but surpassing him. She paints the great composer (without explicitly naming him) with an unflattering brush: vain, petty and with little compunction for essentially stealing the ideas of his students (implying Anna Maria was instrumental, if not the primary author, of The Four Seasons.

Whether any of this is based in fact is almost beside the point. It’s certainly believable that a man of great talent would both appreciate and resent a girl whose genius outstrips his. Anna Maria is imagined a synesthete (she sees colors from music) and an instant prodigy, who rose from the lowest of origins to the height of Venetian society through raw talent and single-minded ambition. Constable imagines the ospedale as a place of deep pain and loneliness, but also refuge and opportunity. But for the orphanage and the chance to make music, these girls would be destined for lives of backbreaking poverty or worse. In The Instrumentalist, Anna Maria (and Vivaldi) are not heroes; they’re grimy, grubbing, driven, brilliant, and an absolute gift to music. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend time with either of them in reality, but here, as characters? They make a worthy study.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.