The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair

This compelling middle-grade nonfiction book invites readers to discover the mysteries of BeethovenP#39;s life by tracing the forensic history of a stolen lock of his hair.At the time of Ludwig van BeethovenP#8217;s death, it was a common practice to take a lock of hair from the deceased as a remembrance, a sacred remnant of the person who meant so much when alive. One such lock of BeethovenP#8217;s hair survived through the years and eventually became the joint property of two men who, in 1995, opened the sealed frame that encased the hair and began the process of unlocking the mysteries of BeethovenP#8217;s life, death, and possibly his genius.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Follow the trail of BeethovenP#8217;s hair as it was passed on from the boy who cut it to his son and down through the years, as it was safeguarded from Nazi Germany and eventually sold at auction in 1994. Through careful forensic testing, the hairs in the lock revealed the causes of BeethovenP#8217;s deafness and his many illnesses. This fascinating story is not only a study of the secrets that forensics can reveal, but a moving history of many peopleP#8217;s devotion to BeethovenP#8217;s music.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Husband and wife team Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley follow the success of MartinP#8217;s adult book, BeethovenP#8217;s Hair, with this retelling for younger readers.