Chopin in Britain

In 1848, Chopin visited England and Scotland. That autumn, he returned to Paris and the following autumn he was dead. Despite the fascination the composer continues to hold for scholars, this brief but important period remains little known. Peter Willis draws on extensive original documentary evidence, as well as cultural artefacts, to tell the story of these two visits and to place them into aristocratic and artistic life in mid-nineteenth-century England and Scotland. In addition to filling a significant hole in our knowledge of the composer’s life, the book adds to our understanding of a number of important figures, including Jane Stirling and the painter Ary Scheffer.