Mesmerized

Mozart's Vienna. A crucible for scientific experimentation and courtly intrigue, as Europe's finest minds vie for imperial favour. In a chaotic private hospital that echoes with the shrieks of hysterical patients, Franz Anton Mesmer is developing a series of controversial cure-alls for body and mind.

When asked to help restore the sight of a blind musical prodigy sponsored by the Empress herself, he senses that fame, even immortality, is within his grasp. But what if the girl's blindness is the source of her fragile talent? Mesmer knows he cannot treat her without first gaining her trust: with his methods already the subject of salacious gossip, will their intimacy result in scandal?

Winner of Spycher Literaturpreis Leuk 2010

“'A beautiful, unpretentious exercise in the language of the mind' Michael Mills, Buzz.-- Michael Mills, Buzz”

'A beautiful, unpretentious exercise in the language of the mind' Michael Mills, Buzz. Michael Mills, Buzz
'Subtle and finely wrought ... I was intrigued, captivated' Paul Dunn, The Times. The Times

Alissa Walser is a writer, translator and painter living in Frankfurt am Main. She is the author of three volumes of short stories, and for her first novel Mesmerized she was awarded the Spycher Literaturpreis in 2010.

Mozart's Vienna. A crucible for scientific experimentation and courtly intrigue, as Europe's finest minds vie for imperial favour. In a chaotic private hospital that echoes with the shrieks of hysterical patients, Franz Anton Mesmer is developing a series of controversial cure-alls for body and mind. When asked to help restore the sight of a blind musical prodigy sponsored by the Empress herself, he senses that fame, even immortality, is within his grasp. But what if the girl's blindness is the source of her fragile talent? Mesmer knows he cannot treat her without first gaining her trust: with his methods already the subject of salacious gossip, will their intimacy result in scandal?

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