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  • Passionate Spirit

  • The Life of Alma Mahler
  • Written by: Cate Haste
  • Narrated by: Helen Lloyd
  • Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Passionate Spirit

Written by: Cate Haste
Narrated by: Helen Lloyd
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Publisher's Summary

A new biography of Alma Mahler (1879-1964), revealing a woman determined to wield power in a world that denied her agency....

History has long vilified Alma Mahler. Critics accused her of distracting Gustav Mahler from his work, and her passionate love affairs shocked her peers. Drawing on Alma's vivid, sensual, and overlooked diaries, biographer Cate Haste recounts the untold and far more sympathetic story of this ambitious and talented woman. Though she dreamed of being the first woman to compose a famous opera, Alma was stifled by traditional social values. Eventually, she put her own dreams aside and wielded power and influence the only way she could, by supporting the art of more famous men. She worked alongside them and gained credit as their muse, commanding their love and demanding their respect.

Passionate Spirit restores vibrant humanity to a woman time turned into a caricature, providing an important correction to a history where systemic sexism has long erased women of talent.
©2019 Cate Haste (P)2019 Hachette Audio
Women Entertainment & Celebrities Europe 19th Century 20th Century
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What the critics say

"In this sympathetic, engrossing biography of Viennese socialite and composer Alma Mahler, Haste traces Mahler's struggle to find equilibrium among her men (all creative geniuses), her erotic desires, and her own musical ambition." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"A well-rounded portrait of an imperious woman and her eventful life." (Kirkus Reviews)

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Alma Mahler a very interesting read.

The story was very interesting, I knew about Alma
With Gustave Mahler , I didn’t know about the after
Life after Gustave death. Thank-you.

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