He lifts his violin, glides his bow downwards across the thickest string. It emits a rich green sound, raising the hair on Anna Maria’s arms.

Venice. 1704. The city that is rich in glamour and historical splendour, with poverty never too far away, snuggled up with the richness of the city. The Instrumentalist is inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pieta, a violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi while living in an orphanage.

Anna Maria always seemed a little bit lost, uncertain of who she really was and why she was given up as a baby. There was only one certainty in her life and that was her love for the violin and music. She was able to see music as colours and understood that this would be her ticket out of the orphanage and a chance to be recognised by the world as a maestro, stopping at nothing to achieve her dream of greatness.

The Instrumentalist is engaging historical fiction. Little information is known about Anna Maria, but Harriet Constable has pulled together enough information to be able to do justice to her fascinating life and climb from orphaned girl to musical prominence. The friendships Anna Maria built with not just the orphans, but her music teacher, were her driving force to be the best.

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of how Anna Maria could see the music through colour; it only makes the devotion she had to music more compelling.

Anna Maria’s fierce devotion and determination was inspiring and will leave the reader adoring her independence and ruthlessness to reach the top, despite her difficult start in life. Historical fiction fans will be left captivated and will devour this book.

Reviewed by Claire Stanley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harriet Constable is a writer and filmmaker based in London. Her debut novel, The Instrumentalist, sold to Bloomsbury following a seven-way auction. After publishing in August 2024 it became a Times Top 10 Bestseller and was named a ‘Best Historical Fiction’ by The Sunday Times. Translation rights have so far sold in 17 different languages. The book is inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, who was an orphan, musical prodigy and student of Antonio Vivaldi. Harriet was named one of the Observer’s top 10 new novelists for 2024.

Harriet’s journalism and documentary work is featured in outlets including The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times, NPR, The Economist. She produced for BBC News at Six and Ten during the pandemic, and is a Rough Guide to Kenya co-author. She was part of the team that made the BAFTA-award winning 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room.

Originally from London, Harriet worked at the Financial Times before spending several years in Nairobi and then Johannesburg. She grew up playing the flute and piano and singing with her mother, a classically trained musician.

Harriet holds a BA (Hons) in English from the University of Birmingham and attended the filmmaking summer school at Columbia University. She is is a Pulitzer Center grantee and a BAFTA Connect member.

Visit Harriet Constable’s website