Wishdaughter

The chance discovery of a letter sets journalist Bill Wheeler off on an investigation into the dark world of opera’s greatest genius, Richard Wagner, the man whom Nietzsche described as a ‘sickness’. The Wishdaughter - or Wunschmaid - of the title refers to Daniela von Bulow, the mysterious object of Richard Wagner’s love. As the true meaning of the Wagner letter starts to become clear, Wheeler is compelled to examine his relationship with his beloved daughter Reah, his ex-wife Tamsin, and Libby Zeigler, the American academic and Wagner-expert who hastened the disintegration of his marriage seven years before. Wishdaughter is an intelligent and uncompromising exploration of the father-daughter relationship, in which Mourby exposes the damage that occurs when overdependent adults disregard the emotional taboos which safeguard young lives. Most of all it is a novel about the need for individuals - and nations - to come to terms with the past before they can move on.