First Night — Jane Aiken Hodge

In the year 1802, two young women, American Martha and English Cristabel, set out across Europe to seek their fortune, in a world where the hazards of Napoleonic power politics mix with the glamour of early 19th century opera and culture. Banished by her father for refusing to marry, Lady Cristabel teams up with Martha Peabody and heads to Lissenberg to continue her opera career, becoming involved instead in political intrigues.