Schubert and his work – Herbert Francis Peyser

Schubert and his work – Herbert Francis Peyser turns out to be a short and simple account of Schubert’s life. Given when the book was written, there is no surprise that the concept of venereal disease did not raise its head in the entire piece. It was alluded to, but there was not even a nudge or a wink in the text. The final diagnosis became typhus. Some interesting points:

·         father- parsimonious, poor, haughty

·         father taught son

·         child handed over to a local teacher who drank too much

·         father chucked him out for a while

·         conscription was avoided by studying

·         often careless with his work (though not deliberately)

·         hint of homosexuality

·         “You squander your thoughts without developing them”

·         Would not eat for several days at the end