This book's publication was arguably one of the events most responsible for the Clara revival of the late 20th century, and while it sticks to certain academic conventions (separating biography from discussion of the works, for instance), it manages to cross the boundary of accessibility and doesn't assume too much of its reader. I appreciate how three-dimensional Clara appears in this portrait, prone to insecurity and lashing out at times but very much the victim of a life dominated by her father and husband, the two men she loved and wanted to please most.