The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
Encyclopedia
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers is a memoir
written by Maria Augusta von Trapp
, whose life was fictionalized in the musical The Sound of Music
. The book was published in 1949 by J. B. Lippincott Company
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
Maria never intended to write anything of her life; but a friend persistently pleaded with her not to allow her story to be forgotten by others. She denied she had any writing skill whatsoever, but her friend was not to be put off and kept on asking her whenever they saw each other. Finally, one day, in desperation, Maria excused herself and went to her room for an hour to scribble a few pages about her life story, hoping to prove once and for all she was no writer. However, this displayed such natural writing talent that she reluctantly agreed to finish what she had started, and her jottings formed the basis of the first chapter of her memoirs.
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
written by Maria Augusta von Trapp
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
, whose life was fictionalized in the musical The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
. The book was published in 1949 by J. B. Lippincott Company
J. B. Lippincott Company
J. B. Lippincott & Co. was an American publishing house founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1836 by Joshua Ballinger Lippincott.Formed by descendants of the Religious Society of Friends, Joshua Lippincott's company began selling a line of Bibles, prayer books and other religious works before...
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Maria never intended to write anything of her life; but a friend persistently pleaded with her not to allow her story to be forgotten by others. She denied she had any writing skill whatsoever, but her friend was not to be put off and kept on asking her whenever they saw each other. Finally, one day, in desperation, Maria excused herself and went to her room for an hour to scribble a few pages about her life story, hoping to prove once and for all she was no writer. However, this displayed such natural writing talent that she reluctantly agreed to finish what she had started, and her jottings formed the basis of the first chapter of her memoirs.
Adaptations
- Die Trapp-Familie (The Trapp FamilyThe Trapp FamilyThe Trapp Family is a 1956 West German film. It is one of the most successful German films of the 1950s. Directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, the film is based on Maria von Trapp's memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
), 1956 film - Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika, 1958 film
- The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, 1959 stage musical, (see also many further stage adaptations in this article) - The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, 1965 film starring Julie AndrewsJulie AndrewsDame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors... - Trapp Ikka MonogatariTrapp Ikka Monogatariis a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation.It was based on the novel The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp, which has also inspired the world famous musical The Sound of Music....
(Trapp Family Story), 1991 animated TV series, part of World Masterpiece TheaterWorld Masterpiece Theateris a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year on 7:30p.m. on Sunday. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 then resumed in 2007....
External links
- The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family (from the US National Archives)