Tamera Alexander writes the most exquisite novels. Her Belmont Mansion series and her Belle Meade Plantation series hold much of her best work. A Note Yet Unsung is the last of the Belmont Mansion series. I am disappointed to see the series end—I’ve come to love the mistress of the mansion, Adelicia Acklen Cheatham, and the personalities who are drawn to her and surround her. A Note Yet Unsung brings us yet another cast of fascinating characters.
Rebekah Carrington comes back to Nashville from almost ten years in Vienna where her grandmother had sent her to perfect her music. But her beloved grandmother has died and the funds for Rebekah’s living have ceased. Dreading her return home, Rebekah dallies across the street from the house remembering her disgust for her stepfather, Barton Ledbetter. She is accosted by a street urchin selling papers. After an interesting interchange, she persuades him to go to the house to deliver a paper there and to see if her mother is at home. With the knowledge her mother is not there, she pays him the three nickels promised and delaying still, begins reading the paper.
Rebekah reads about a position open at the Nashville Symphony for a personal assistant for the maestro, Nathaniel Tate Whitcomb. Deciding she has nothing to lose and determined to show him her musical ability, she heads to the opera house. Having talked her way past the dragon lady guarding the maestro’s time, she pauses in the hall outside his office, hearing a lecture going in within. The lecture ends, the door opens and who should emerge but her childhood nemesis, Darrow Fulton. True to past form, Darrow scathingly attempts to put her down but finds the older Rebekah a match for his taunts.
Tate Whitcomb is frustrated—the orchestra and Darrow are not performing up to his standards. And now he must put up with interviewing another simpering female who wants the job, but mostly wants the conductor. Finally making Tate understand she was not there for the assistant position, Rebekah masterfully plays her oboe for him and asks for a position in the orchestra. He turns her down flat—women are not allowed to play in the orchestra—it just isn’t done! The maestro then rushes out for another appointment. Surprisingly, the dragon lady, Mrs. Murphey, give Rebekah a lead for another position—at Belmont Mansion. And so all the characters are in place.
You will love this last story in the series—and you’ll love Rebekah and Tate. You’ll wonder if either of them will ever attain their dream. And you’ll come to appreciate Adelicia Alklen Cheatham even more than you have if you’ve read the other books in the series. Five stars!
Tamera Alexander has five series to her credit. She is a USA Today best-selling author. She is also a genuinely nice person, who cares for her readers and her fans. Her novels are well-researched and she willingly shares the research with us—down to recipes for beaten biscuits or classical music. Find out more about Tamera at TameraAlexander.com
I purchased my copy of A Note Yet Unsung, so I was in no way obligated to write a favorable review.