For everyone who has ever enjoyed the Sound of Music,, this book is a must-read. Intriguing historical fiction based on the truth of Maria, who, after hearing that Roger Hammerstein is making her life story into a Broadway musical, writes to Hammerstein about the inaccuracies in the show’s script and requests a meeting with I’m to relay her ideas on how he should fix the script. What follows in the novel (the fictional part) is that Hammerstein sends his assistant to meet with Maria, to listen to her concerns, in an effort to pacify Mrs. Von Trapp. This book is extremely well-researched based on the author’s note at the end and gives a remarkable insight into the character of the ‘real’ Maria as well as her baron husband and his children. It is a great read for any age.

Beautifully written historical fiction about Maria Von Trapp, who the sound of music is based on. This novel details the complexity of her life.
I always looked up to Maria, and loved reading the more in depth story!

I added a star due to my recent visit to Salzburg and Sound of Music tour there, then watching the movie again upon return. I really enjoyed reading about the discrepancies in the real story of the von Trapps from the play and movie version. The historical background of the rise of the Nazis in the 1930’s known as the Aunschloss , was a real part of their story, and their resistance should be respected. The story told in the time of the release of the Broadway play was not as interesting, but it gave the author an opportunity to have Maria tell the true story. If you are a fan of the Sound of Music, this book will be appealing to you. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was lucky enough to see The Sound of Music on stage and watch the movie every time it shows up on TV. I love the movie and am aware that Hollywood often changes true stories to make them more exciting but didn't know the true story about Maria von Trapp until I read this book and did some additional research.

In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. It was based on a book written by Maria in 1949. The people who wrote the play felt that parts of it were too dark and changes needed to be made in the story to ensure that it would be a hit on Broadway. When Maria saw the script for the play, she was angry and went to New York to insist that Rogers and Hammerstein change the play so that it was the true story of her life. She wasn't happy because her husband was not the strict father that was portrayed, that the children's names were changed and that their escape from Austria was nothing like what was shown in the play. No changes were made and when the play opened on Broadway in 1959, Maria was in the front row of the theater.

The book Maria had two different timelines. One was the life of Maria from the nunnery to the home of the von Trapp's and becoming the governess and then the mother of the children. The second time line took place in the 1950s when Rogers and Hammerstein were writing the music for the play and Maria's demands to make changes. Even though Maria was portrayed very differently in the play than she was in real life, the book still shows her as a courageous woman and a caring mother who made mistakes in her life as she tried to create the best life for her family.

The author did extensive research to write this book. Be sure to read the Author's notes at the end to find out more about her research and the changes that she made in the story.

This is the story of the real Maria von Trapp
When Rogers and Hammerstein are writing the lyrics to the musical based on Maria von Trapp’s life, Maria reads the script. She becomes furious, they have it all wrong. She demands changes be made to the script.
She tells her story to Fran Hammerstein’s Secretary. It was interesting to learn that Maria was so different in real life, and her husband was the exact opposite as he was portrayed.
I have read many books by Michelle Moran her writing is just beautiful. This is a compelling story of the truth behind the musical.

Maria is a novel about Maria von Trapp. Fictionalized from the standpoint of Hammerstein's secretary, Fran, it sets the premise of Maria's discontent with the romanticization of her life for the stage. Maria tries to speak to Hammerstein to fix the changes they made to her story but gets told he's busy and can only be assisted by his secretary. Maria agrees to meet with Fran and, over several meetings, details what she thinks is wrong to change about the Von Trapp family's story and why it was important not to change it into something that it wasn't. It's an interesting story of what's true and what isn't and how incredible the story is, regardless of these changes.

So happy to have been able to read this book. I have always been a fan of " The Sound of Music" So interesting to read Maria's actual account of how it really was and the things that couldn't be shown in a movie.

Perfect for fans of the movie and the. music. I had read an autobiography years ago, and this one fills in some of the gaps.

Maria by Michelle Moran was a bit disappointing in that it retold the main points of the movie. I was expecting something more or other than what the movie depicted. It was nicely written, perhaps it offers an introduction to someone unaware of the story.

Maria is the story of Maria Von Trapp made famous by The Sound of Music. The book begins with Maria wishing to speak with Oscar Hammerstein before the musical of The Sound of Music opened on Broadway in the 1950s. Maria did not like that the story had been changed from what actually happened. Hammerstein's secretary, Fran, meets with her instead. Maria tells Fran her compelling story which reveals the difficult life that Maria led. The book is fascinating especially when Maria's real life story parallels the beloved movie's storyline. I thoroughly; enjoyed reading about Maria's life. It is clear that Michelle Moran did a lot of research in her writing of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of Maria.

Maria Augusta Kutschera grew up as an orphan in an abusive environment. After earning a teaching degree, she received an assignment to serve as a teacher to one of seven children in a local Austrian family. In this job, Maria brought music and play to the home and fell in love with the children. Their father, Captian Georg Von Trapp, fell in love with Maria. Eventually, the couple married and developed a family choir that toured Europe.
After the family escaped the Nazi regime and settled in the U.S., they continued touring until Georg's death. Oscar Hammerstein wrote the lyrics for the 1950s musical based on Maria's life. However, some of the story in that award-winning play and later movie were incorrect. This book shares a fictional account of the real Maria's life.
I love the Sound of Music and was eager to read this book! It kept me entertained. Much of the first half of the movie is based on facts. But much of the second half of the play/movie are fictionalized. Despite her initial reservations, Maria did eventually embrace the story.
I was surprised that Maria's children were so estranged from her after their father died. But she was a woman who knew what she wanted and pursued her wishes. She was also a demanding mother and pushed the children to perform even when they suffered severe anxiety. According to the novel, "misunderstandings and anxieties and fears have driven everyone away.”
Her demanding demeanor also suprised me. She started her job as governess with a fun and playful attitude. That fun changed in time, and she became controlling of the children, perhaps in part as an overreaction to her traumatic childhood and fear of abandonment.
Interesting facts:
"Nec aspera terrent [is] the von Trapp family motto, and it means Frightened by No Difficulties."
Father Franz Wasner managed the family's career in Austria. The play/movie replaces him with Max Detwiler.

3,5 stars

As someone who grew up watching and re-watching The Sound of Music, this book felt like a perfect trip down nostalgia land. Not only does it retain some of the magic of the music, but it also gives just the right amount of backstory as to how the musical even came to be.

Personally, I found that the author did a good job at introducing the "real" story from Maria's point of view, who let in on the amount of guilt she felt while also not truly regretting where all her efforts got her in the end. She was a highly insecure person who needed validation and was afraid that people around her would just eventually leave. That is potentially why her narration of facts always felt unreliable, which I liked. When Lorli confirms that Maria is not being wholly transparent that simply seals that for the reader, and provides more clarity on why her story feels so idyllic in a way.

As for Fran, I think that despite not getting that much into her character, she was a great vessel to portray the position of white women in society in the 1950s, especially in the creative fields. I liked that the author chose to portray the inner workings of Broadway at the time, and the publishing industry in New York.

My biggest surprise was the Captain, who has been depicted rather unfairly throughout the years. I wish that Maria (when narrating her life story) would have focused more on the nuances of his character, but the little glimpses we got were crucial to understanding how his grief may have contributed to his detachment from the children and his former life, and how, despite it all, his values were never up for sale regardless of his family's financial situation and social standing. He seemed to have been the one who kept the family together by softening the blow of Maria's temper every time.

All in all, I found this an entertaining read and one that filled me with nostalgia and a yearning to rewatch the movie. I wish there would have been greater depth, but ultimately I was left satisfied by how the author decided to portray the story of the musical and of the von Trapps themselves.

This isn't the first book I have read about the Von Trapps. However, I was almost afraid to try it because I thought it might ruin one of my favorite movies. Though it was fiction, I feel it had a different perspective on the family. It was well written and I really enjoyed it. Even the movie was 'loosely based' on their lives, but the major points were true.
I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC. Definitely recommend!

Maria, written by Michelle Moran, was released on July 30 and was a delightful story to read. Based on the real Maria Von Trapp and her singing family, the story is told through two different settings. The first is in New York City with the development of Hammerstein’s Broadway production of the “The Sound of Music.” The remainder of the story is set in Austria and follows Maria from the abbey to the home of the Von Trapp family. This novel opened my eyes to things I never knew past the movie I watched as a child. Information about the love affair, the lives and personalities of the children, and the aftermath of WWII and their journey to America. My rating is 4 stars and is definitely a must read if you are a fan of “The Sound of Music” from 1965.

In this fascinating dual-timeline, dual perspective historical fiction novel, Michelle Moran brings Maria von Trapp and Oscar Hammerstein’s secretary Fran to life. As Hammerstein works on the story to turn it into a big Broadway show, Maria has concerns with the script and intends to confront Hammerstein in person but is instead foisted off onto Fran. Striking up an unlikely friendship, Maria shares the true story of her life with Fran, contradicting much of what appears in Hammerstein’s final musical. As they explore her life story and prepare for the Broadway opening, Fran learns that the stories are usually more complicated in reality and change our understandings of the tales immortalized by the entertainment industry. Flashing back to Maria’s life and then to her conversations with Fran, the novel does an incredible job bringing her story to life and building out the reality that influenced the hit musical The Sound of Music. With incredible characters, stakes which increase as the novel progresses, and so many fascinating details, this dual-timeline novel forces readers to look beyond the surface of the pop culture stories they take for granted. Handling challenging issues and forgotten stories brilliantly, Moran’s latest book is a fascinating story about family and the complicated truths behind any public family.

This was good. I always liked the movie so the book intrigued right away. Makes me want to read her autobiography.

This book focused on the life of Maria von Trapp, and even moreso, about the making of the musical The Sound of Music. When Hammerstein developed a play based upon her tale, Maria hated it. She demanded changes to the script because she felt that the story wasn't being true to some of the specific details that actually took place. Fran Connelly, Hammerstein's assistant, speaks with Maria in this book to review the issues and discuss - and come to resolution - on how things could move forward.

The discussions were interesting and I think that fans of the story - the play or the movie - would find the changes to be intriguing. For instance, the personalities of Maria and Georg von Trapp were actually flipped in the movie. In reality, Maria was the strict disciplinarian and the Baron was the positive and optimistic one.

Overall, it was a good book and will be interesting to those that know the story and want to find out more truth behind the tale. My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

In the 1950’s Oscar Hammerstein is intrigued by the story of Maria Von Trapp. Knowing that the world wasn’t ready for the true horrors the Von Trapp family faced, Hammerstein told the story from a Hollywood point of view. Maria was not at all pleased with the outcome. This book, while Historical Fiction, does a good job of portraying the Von Trapp family as a whole, not sugar coating their flaws. While most of the world only knows the story of the Von Trapp’s from the movie, The Sound of Music, there is a whole lot more. Moran puts that story in writing to give a clearer perspective of what really happened. Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

thank you thank you thank you to Random House - Ballentine and NetGalley for the e-ARC!! I grew up on the Sound of Music. It was my first musical that I ever watched in person, the first movie musical I ever watched with my grandparents, it's a very passionate subject for me. I was fascinated and enrapt every minute I was reading it. I learned a lot about the true subject of the musical and the true biography of Maria von Trapp. I loved the book and the finished copy is sitting on my bookshelf within my view.

Maria by Michelle Moran is a historical novel that delves into the true story behind the iconic Maria von Trapp, whose life inspired The Sound of Music. Moran tells the story of Maria by contrasting the sanitized version that Hollywood famously immortalized with the reality of the her struggles and triumphs.

Set in the 1950's, the novel begins with Oscar Hammerstein, one-half of the celebrated Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, as he is tasked with adapting Maria's life into a Broadway musical. As Hammerstein delves into Maria's background, the story transitions into an exploration of the real Maria von Trapp - a woman whose life was marked by loss, sacrifice, and resilience. Maria's journey from an Austrian novice sent to care for a widower's child toa baroness fleeing Nazi occupation is at the heart of this novel. Moran highlights the tension between the fictionalized version of Maria and the gritty truth she lived.

The heart of the novel lies in Maria's relationship with Fran, Hammerstein's secretary. Through this unlikely friendship, Maria shares the parts of her story that were glossed over or altered for theatrical effect. The author reveals a Maria who is far more complex than her cheerful portrayal on screen- grappling with the weight of war, displacement, and her role as both wife and stepmother in extraordinary circumstances.

I really enjoyed Maria and I have recommended it to several friends. #NetGalley #MichelleMoran #Maria