Naomi Weisman is the writer of Nomi's Pics, and the editor of the Rambler Cafe Blog. She is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
In The Instrumentalist, Harriet Constable reimagines the life of Anna Maria della Pietà, a real 18th-century Venetian orphan whose extraordinary musical gift captured the attention of Antonio Vivaldi. Through vivid sensory prose and haunting historical realism, Constable exposes the beauty and brutality of a world where women’s talents were both celebrated and silenced.
In our book club challenge, we were grateful to discover a story that shed new light on a familiar figure—Vivaldi, an artist whose music we know so well—and to learn about Anna Maria, the remarkable young woman whose brilliance had all but vanished from history. The novel invited us to re-examine what we think we know about art, genius, and who gets remembered. For many of us, The Instrumentalist was an evocative blend of music, color, and emotion—an easy yet deeply affecting read that lingers long after the final note fades.
Summary
Set in Venice in the late 1600s and early 1700s, The Instrumentalist follows Anna Maria, an abandoned child raised in the Pietà—an orphanage for girls that doubles as one of Venice’s most renowned musical institutions. Gifted with an extraordinary perception of music, Anna Maria experiences synesthesia: hearing colors and seeing sounds. As her talent blossoms under the mentorship of Antonio Vivaldi, her world becomes increasingly consumed by art, ambition, and power. But in a time when women’s creativity is tightly controlled, Anna Maria’s gift becomes both her salvation and her prison.
Constable intertwines Anna Maria’s personal journey with the broader realities faced by women of her time—those born into poverty, denied education, and valued only through service, marriage, or obedience. The story crescendos toward a reckoning with love, betrayal, and the reclamation of self.
Readers’ Perceptions
Readers praised The Instrumentalist for portraying “the reality of thousands of women’s lives” across history—lives marked by resilience amid oppression. Many were horrified by the stark realities faced by women and children, particularly the abandoned infants and overworked orphans within the Pietà. The parallels to modern inequality were striking: “It’s still true today,” one reader noted.
Anna Maria’s character sparked wide-ranging emotions. Some admired her brilliance and tenacity; others found her self-absorption troubling until the story’s end, when her humanity finally surfaces. “I didn’t really like her until the end,” one reader admitted, “but maybe that says more about how we still expect women to behave.”
Vivaldi’s portrayal divided opinion. Some saw him as a complex mentor-figure; others as manipulative, even abusive. His exploitation of Anna Maria’s talent, both emotionally and professionally, resonated as an early echo of the systemic silencing of women in the arts.
Listening to the audiobook (especially as narrated by Emilia Clarke) deepened the experience for several readers, who described the prose as “almost musical” and the colors of Anna Maria’s soundscape as immersive and transporting.
Themes and Symbols
Power and Exploitation:
The teacher–student dynamic between Vivaldi and Anna Maria embodies the imbalance of power that defines much of women’s history. Vivaldi’s mentorship, tinged with manipulation, exposes how ambition and affection can blur into control.
Women’s Creative Expression:
Readers reflected on how women’s artistic gifts were constrained by patriarchal and religious systems. As one noted, “What was the point of teaching them music if they couldn’t receive credit for their work?” Constable’s story pays tribute to generations of women whose talents were appropriated or erased.
Synesthesia and the Language of Color:
Anna Maria’s sensory perception—experiencing music as color—was among the most celebrated aspects of the book. Some found it enchanting, others slightly overdone, but all agreed it offered a striking window into her creative mind. The colors became a metaphor for both transcendence and isolation, allowing readers to “feel” music in a new dimension.
Venice as Character:
The Venetian setting heightened the story’s tension and beauty. Those who had visited described feeling “trapped” by its narrow canals and alleyways, mirroring the confinement of the Pietà’s girls. Yet Venice’s mystery and vibrancy also reflected the passion that fueled Anna Maria’s music.
Progress and Parallels:
Readers repeatedly linked the novel’s historical injustices to modern ones—from the exploitation of women in creative fields to systemic inequities that persist today. References to the Lilith Fair documentary underscored how little has changed: “How far have we really come in 300 years?”
Notable Quotes
“The girl had notes before she had words, and those notes have always had colours.”
Captures Anna Maria’s innate musical gift and the fusion of sound and sight that defines her identity.
“Tones and hues float up, high above the city, hanging like notes on a stave, matching the sounds below.”
Blends the sensory and the spiritual, turning Venice itself into a living score.
“Some things are more important than music, you know.”
“No, they’re not! It is the reason. It is everything… I’m going to be the best. This is what it takes.”
Reveals Anna Maria’s consuming devotion—and the personal cost of greatness.
Final Thoughts
The Instrumentalist resonated deeply across our community—not just as historical fiction, but as a reflection on women’s struggle for recognition, autonomy, and creative ownership. Readers described it as “an easy and interesting read” that became “hard to forget,” filled with heartbreak, beauty, and inspiration.
For many, the novel evoked gratitude toward “all the women who came before us,” whose courage and endurance paved the way for the freedoms enjoyed today. In bringing Anna Maria’s forgotten story to light, Harriet Constable composed more than a novel—she orchestrated a tribute to women’s resilience, creativity, and the unbreakable human spirit.
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