Maria: a fictionalized look at the real Maria von Trapp and the making of The Sound of Music

Maria by Michelle Moran is a fictional novel based on the real story of Maria von Trapp. In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein was asked to write the lyrics to a new musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. Intrigued by the inspirational story, and as one of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein duo, he knows it will be Broadway gold. But with the war still fresh on the audience's mind, he is reluctant to show the horrors in their story. Everything is going well until Maria insists on a meeting with Hammerstein to demand he tell her story correctly. Instead of a meeting with the famous lyricist, she meets with Fran, his secretary, who takes notes as Maria recounts her story which contradicts the story being told in the new musical. Generations know her name and the musical but do they know the real Maria von Trapp? 

The Sound of Music is a beloved classic musical and film that inspired generations with the story of the would-be nun who fell in love and narrowly escaped from the Nazis. Maria is a story of love, love and difficult choices that life forces us to make. It is also a reminder that real life is much more complicated than the stories told by Hollywood. I have been a fan of the film musical since I was a child and I always knew that the musical doesn’t get everything right about the story of the von Trapps. Beyond the sweet, caring Maria in the musical, Maria von Trapp was a woman who lived through a tragic young life vowing to keep her family intact at all cost. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you love The Sound of Music, you will love Maria. I highly recommend checking it out. 

Maria will be available on July 30th in paperback, eBook and audiobook