The House of Wittgenstein: A Family At War - Softcover

'It has been famously written, and often observed, that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Never was this truer than in the case of the Wittgensteins ... fascinating' Spectator 'A work of real discovery' Norman Lebrecht, Evening Standard 'The story in this book is so gripping and fascinating that it is remarkable that it has never been told in this way before ... it is hard to imagine another account showing such fluency, wit and attention to detail as Alexander Waugh's' Simon Heffer, Literary Review 'Masterly ... His writing is brisk, confident and colourful ... a pleasure to read' Sunday Telegraph

The Wittgenstein family was one of the richest, most talented and most eccentric in European history. The domineering paternal influence of Karl Wittgenstein left his eight children fraught by inner antagonisms and nervous tension. Three of his sons committed suicide; Paul, the fourth, became a world-famous concert pianist (using only his left hand), while Ludwig, the youngest, is now regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. In this dramatic historical and psychological epic, Alexander Waugh traces the triumphs and vicissitudes of a family held together by a fanatical love of music yet torn apart by money, madness, conflicts of loyalty and the cataclysmic upheaval of two world wars.