Mozart's Journey to Prague (Penguin Classics) - Tapa blanda

Mozart is creative, brilliant and charming. But is he also a thief?

Making his way to Prague for the opening of Don Giovanni, the great composer playfully tries to steal an orange from a Bohemian family's garden. But no sooner has he taken the fruit than he is caught by a furious gardener. Desperate to escape, Mozart frantically scrawls an apologetic note to the owners of the tree.

Soon, he finds himself not only forgiven but welcomed by a family who have adored the beauty of his music and are stunned to find the celebrity wandering lost in their orangery. And when they reveal it is their daughter's wedding, there can only be one guest of honour: the musical genius Amadeus.

Eduard Morike was born in Ludwigsburg in 1804. He was a Protestant pastor before teaching literature at a seminary in Stuttgart. He spent the last decade of his life in increasing solitude, keen to avoid the fame his writing had brought him.
David Luke is an Emeritus Fellow of Christ Church, Oxford. His translation of Faust won the European Poetry Translation Prize.