If you grew up loving the The Sound of Music and everything about the Von Trapp Family this book is for you. As a child, there was always something magical about this family. I know the movie by heart, I have seen the show on Broadway, and this past year I finally made it to the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. This book was a wonderful addition to my understanding of the Trapp Family and their complicated story.

This book is set in the 1950's as Rogers and Hammerstein are about to open The Sound of Music on Broadway. Maria Von Trapp has contacted their office and wants to set the record straight on some of the "facts" that were presented in a previous dramatization of their story. Fran, an assistant to Oscar Hammerstein, is tasked with meeting Maria. Through their conversations we are brought back to Maria's childhood and are granted a better understanding of her upbringing, her time as the Von Trapp family's nanny, their rise to fame as a family of singers, and ultimately their escape from Austria.

I absolutely adored this book and could not wait to get home every night to read more. The writing is easy breezy to fall in love with and I really appreciated a better understanding of Maria. She was a headstrong and fierce woman who made mistakes, but, ultimately, only wanted the best for her family. If you are a fan of The Sound of Music this is a must read!

Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran is a great historical fiction that delves into the real story of the family within the famous movie The Sound of Music.

I have always loved this movie, and for those that are huge fans, this book is for you.

I really liked how the author was able to present the truth and what really happened vs fiction and legend that has been created concerning this family and the infamous movie and characters that were created. I have been shying away from any historical fiction that has more than one timeline due to burnout, however this method definitely works and I am glad I looked over my initial hesitation.

The pacing, the presentation, and the things I learned while reading this gem made for a wonderful time.

Highly recommend.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 7/30/24.

I was thrilled to receive the ARC of this book from NetGalley!!! I am a lover of all musicals, Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The novel Maria is historical fiction that fans of The Sound of Music will thoroughly enjoy!!

The Sound of Music was an albeit necessary yet still overly optimistic view through “rose colored glasses” of a time set leading up to World War II. In true Broadway style the portrayal of the story had to show a more softened view of some of the hard truths, making them more palatable to all viewers. The weakened portrayal of hardship caused by the pending war, Hitler, and Natzism in the Austrian region and its effects on the Von Trapp family was because of that necessary adaptation. As we all know result was still an awe inspiring musical. How awesome it is to potentially see behind the curtain!!!

Although this story is fiction, the book seems to delve into the portrayal of the true to life trauma behind the musical and it shows the necessity in making the true story more agreeable to audiences of the musical. For the record I loved getting to know Oscar. ♥️

A beautifully well written story. One thing, I did feel the relationship between Fran and Peter was a bit rushed and needs to build the story a tad more but overall I really loved this book. Maybe that will happen before the final release.

Interesting fictional account. I liked it but didn't love it. As a long-time (over 45 years long!) fan of this story, it didn't provide much new for me. I've read all of Maria von Trapp's writings, and this cannot compare to the real thing.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All I can say is Wow!!
The book is even better than the movie!
That's saying a lot since I love The Sound of Music too.
The author has done an amazing job in her research.
I felt like I got to know them better too.
Especially Maria. Maria is an amazing woman. In a way I really admired her for her bravery and determination to get through what life threw at her.
I couldn't put this book down until it was finished. Such a good book too.
I didn't want the book to end.
This book will make you want to hug Maria and cry too.
She will make you think about your own life and how to make different choices, changes and yes maybe even love and a family.
I'm giving this novel 5 stars for a well written book. I highly recommend!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Maria is a historical fiction of how real life is messy. It’s not quite the tale of sunshine and rainbows, hope and adversity, that The Sound of Music portrays. It’s understandable that the musical/movie desired to make life seem rosy in a post WW2 era. But it’s incredible to read what truly transpired, and how much less sweet it was.

This book is an emotional read. Real life is emotional. Late 1930s Austria was emotional. The afterward describing how realistic this book is with notes of what happened to everyone made me tear up. I even had a nightmare inspired by this book. This isn’t my normal style of read and I was a little slow with it, but I’m so glad I read it.

If you loved The Sound of Music, I highly recommend this book. It gives you the more real version of events that transpired before, during, and after the time period in the book. You get to see what Maria’s childhood was like, her “love” story, their terrifying escape from Nazi Germany, their immigration to America, 1950s Broadway, Hammerstein’s office environment, what went into producing the musical, and a depiction of Oscar Hammerstein’s last days. Edelweiss being his last song written, and him never seeing the stardom of the movie broke me. Plus Maria’s bow was beautifully sweet.

The level of detail Michelle Moran put into writing this book is incredible. She visited Austria and places Maria truly went. She talked with people who had met the Von Trapps. She read many autobiographies/memoirs from Maria, her children, and even staff from Hammerstein’s office. I commend her on this.

I really enjoyed this fictional account of the von Trapp family, which portrayed a more complex Maria and a more correct version of their lives, especially the harrowing escape from the Nazis. I found it very uplifting, although shocked at how the stage/movie version was not factual in so many ways.

I received an ARC of Maria from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I very much enjoyed this book. I have loved The Sound of Music my whole life. I had never read anything about Maria or her husband and stepchildren. I was surprised to realize the ages, sexes, and names of the actual Von Trapp children is different than the movie. Additionally, Maria became their governess in the late 1920s, so was with them for more than a decade before the war began. Maria is somewhat unlikable, but it seems that's who she really was. I knew nothing of her traumatic childhood, which explains some of her "quirks." Overall, the book is fairly well written and a short (225 pages), easy read.

If you loved the movies, plays or books about the Sound of Music/von Trapp family, you definitely want to add this book to your TBR list. It’s a quick read, I couldn’t put it down.

The story gives a little different perspective with insight into who Maria and her husband were, and their life together and as a family. It was refreshing to hear Maria was not the saint Roger’s and Hammerstein painted her to be.

I learned a bit about Hammerstein as well, I didn’t realize all he had accomplished in his short life, nor had I ever learned about his death and what a loss it was for humanity. A musical genius creating beautiful, ever lasting musical pieces.

The author has us look deeper into the families singing career and how deeply it affected the children. Rosemary being affected the most, exhibiting duress into adulthood from the pressure and schedules, not to mention she didn’t want to sing at all. The family ends up fractured with not such a happy ending as one might think. Then of course the reason they started touring to begin with, to escape the Nazi invasion. There are some changes and enlightenment there as well.

When the family sold the rights to their story, they lost control over the story portrayal and accuracy. Liberties were taken to alter the story to sell seats. There are corrections in this book, for example the sex portrayed of one child was incorrect, as were some of the add in characters.

The book is based on Maria’s repeated attempts to meet with Hammerstein to correct inaccuracies in her families biography. Maria especially wanted clarification regarding the portrayal of Georg. Portrayed as strict and rigid, he was actually loving, kind and fun. As she meets with Hammerstein’s assistant, the story unfolds as we know it, but we learn many fascinating facts that were not originally presented.

Great read. Highly recommend.

I was intrigued to learn more about the life of Maria von Trapp, but by the end I felt like I was left needing more detail. It almost read too fast for a historical fiction, and I left feeling weird that it’s a fictionalized novel about a woman who didn’t like the fictionalized version of the musical of her life (which she eventually came around to). However, I never wanted to stop reading because I was hooked, despite wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Sound of Music is an iconic film. Everyone believes they understand the von Trapp family and their heroism through this exposure. How much of the story is true and how much is not? In Maria by Michelle Moran, we explore the story behind the story. As with any story, some events are romanticized.

Maria von Trapp has learned the team of Rogers and Hammerstein plan to premiere a play based upon the family and its escape from Nazi Germany. She is concerned that many events may either be misrepresented or misunderstood. She desires to convince the writers to change any discrepancies. Hammerstein is busy finishing the play and does not want to deal with Maria. Fran Connelly, Hammerstein's assistant, will represent him and meet with Mrs. von Trapp. Fran is suspicious of Maria's intentions initially. After meeting Maria and listening, Fran soon understands Maria's desire to present their lives accurately. Will Fran be able to convey Maria's wishes to Hammerstein?

I enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the von Trapps and their journey to America. Michelle Moran tells this story in a balanced manner, never becoming overly sentimental. Maria has her foibles as well as her attributes. Understanding what the family did endure as their beloved Austria fell to the Nazis provides readers with a greater appreciation of the family's challenges. After the story ends, Moran thoughtfully includes a brief update on each von Trapp family member, concluding the family's saga. As with her other books, Michelle Moran brings a vibrant understanding of historical events and the people that inhabit them.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. Thank you Megan Whalen, Random House Publishing Group, Michelle Moran, and NetGalley.

This book was excellent! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book, as everyone enjoys the Sound of Music. I would consider this an excellent “light read” of the life of The Von Trap family. It seems their lives were challenging I felt the author wrote their lives with much levity instead of adequately articulating their hardships. I’m going to overlook that, and just say it was a fantastic book.

This novel was one I couldn't put down. I'm a fan of Moran's other work, but this was the first one I read that was set in (relatively) modern history. It does a good job making the familiar interesting; I was trying to anticipate where Maria's real life would be different than the well-known musical and movie. There were a few little Easter eggs for Broadway aficionados along the way too!

Maria, A Novel of Maria Von Traps by Michelle Moran. For fans of the Sound of Music!

I rate this 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

I love the Sound of Music and wanted to read something different than my usual genres, and the movie only shares a sliver of who Maria is. I loved learning more about the von Trapp Family and Maria’s life. Maria had a difficult childhood that had her grasping for control as she got older. Opposite of the film Maria was the more rigid and harsher disciplinary than compared to Georg who was the more cheery loving one. Their love also started one sided, Maria loved the kids first then later fell in love with Georg after they were married.

We follow Fran who is an employee of Oscar Hammerstein, the writer of the Broadway musical. Fran is handling the complaints from Maria about the musical as it is being produced. And through this encounter we learn the true story of Maria and her family.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. The Sound of Music is my favorite movie hands down, and I loved reading about the behind the scenes of the beginning of the play and background in to Maria's life. I had read one of Maria's autobiographies, but it has been many years. I knew she was more harsh than the movie makes her out to be, but the book put a whole different spin on it, by shining a light on how she grew up. It made her seem more human and helped me to understand more of where she was coming from. I loved getting to know which parts of the play/movie were made up and which were true. I also loved learning about Hammerstein, and how he really cared about Maria's concerns. If you are a fan of the play or movie, this is a must read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

What drew me in was the perspective of Maria Von Trapp and the play. The idea that Maria Von Trapp was not happy with the musical play by Rodgers and Hammerstein and wanted to get the other point of view. Really interested me having only seen the movie it made me want to read more.

It goes back to Maria Von Trapp before she was a Von Trapp and her upbringing as a child, her love for music that was brought on by her father going to be a teacher and her fascination with Nuns.

The Other Point of View is Fran Hammerstein's assistant and the finessing of the musical where Maria wants to tell her story and doesn't want a recreation of the German film. Fran listens to the story which then goes back to the rest of the life up until the play so you play around with a form of a dual timeline Frans life and Maria in her various forms the ones we know well from the sound of Music Movie and the ones we don't which are more personal.

You also learn more about the famous Hammerstein which I really appreciated I also appreciated the in depth of research that went on afterward. Of course the writing style is amazing, clear and great and every voice is clear. You know who is talking and where.

I highly recommend this book so much when it's out I would love to buy it! This Arc was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Von Trapps from reading this book. I was surprised to see how different their lives were compared to the movie and play. I also enjoyed the parts of the book related to Oscar Hammerstein and the making of the Broadway play.
The author cleverly told the story in an appealing way, and I flew through the book. Fans of The Sound of Music will appreciate this book. I highly recommend this book.

This book was so heartwarming and beautifully written. The Sound of Music is a favorite of mine, so a book based on the life of Maria Von Trapp was a must read for me.

The story is told from dual time lines a follows Maria's life from Austria and the struggles she must have faced during the war, her love of music, her becoming a step mother to so many children, and their escape to America.

The book is thought provoking and revealing. So much was left unsaid and glossed over. In the movie.

Five stars. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for this amazing book.

I grew up loving The Sound of Music movie, so I was very excited to have a book on this topic! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the true history of the von Trapp family, as well as getting a behind the-scenes look into the world of producing a musical in the 1950s. I greatly admire Oscar Hammerstein, so a glimpse into his life was a treat! This book was such a fresh, honest depiction of both timelines. Highly recommend, especially if you're a fan of The Sound of Music.

Growing up, sound of music was one of my favorites. Being able to read about the real maria was awesome. I got to learn more about who she was. I think that this is a must read, especially if sound of music was a favorite