Music, passion, and mystery. The world's greatest composer. His personal story finally told.... The mysterious death of the nineteenth-century composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is still unsolved to this day and this unusual novel brings to life the private, illegal trial against him and takes the reader through his astounding life as never before. His unlawful sexuality and shy demeanor were at odds with his music and notoriety. Did society forgive him, or did fate have the last word? A realistic adult novel with a stunning ending. View a photo gallery of the true-life characters and check out the book's video trailer at http://tchaikovskynovel.comBook Jacket:Saint Petersburg, 1893. In the dimly lit salon of a private house, the composer Tchaikovsky watches as an illegal jury considers his alleged crimes of licentious behavior. He hastily agrees to abide by their orders to swallow poison rather then face allegations in the official courts, but is terrified by the reality of the situation. As he considers how his life has led him to this point, a dark tale emerges. Tchaikovsky's immense fame, unlawful sexuality, mysterious death, and the splendid music which surrounds it all paint a unique and intriguing portrait of one of the most beloved composers of all time. Did he find a way out of the web of revenge and deceit, or did fate have the last word? 'BRAVOS' FOR PYOTR ILYICH: "Dalton liberally mixes extensive research into Tchaikovsky's daily life with a sensitivity and equally well-researched understanding of the musicology of the composer and his peers in 19th-century St. Petersburg. The confident sweep of the novel includes dozens of secondary characters, with the result being one of the best treatments of Tchaikovsky, fiction or nonfiction, ever written in English. The intelligently-handled theme of pre-20th-century homosexuality will come as a revelation to many readers. Enthusiastically recommended. -THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY