Praise for The Emperor Waltz: 'A novel that is always a joy to read ... Read it and allow yourself to become a better person' Independent 'Important ... Glorious ... He might have the iconoclastic temperament of a Kandinsky, but he is an old master when he glimpses the cat asleep under the table or the curve of a woman's neck' The Times 'A glittering performance ... "The Emperor Waltz" has the depth and pleasurable density of a 19th-century fiction; I loved it' Ian Thomson, Evening Standard 'Splendidly thought out and extraordinarily readable' A S Byatt, Guardian 'A generous, courageous firework of a novel - a Roman candle, alive and fizzing in the hand' New Statesman 'A book as joyful as its musical source ... "The Emperor Waltz" is a beautiful book, both profound and funny. It is a powerful invocation to live a life of joy, surrounded by true friends' Telegraph

Philip Hensher has written nine novels, including The Mulberry Empire, the Booker-shortlisted The Northern Clemency, King of the Badgers and Scenes from Early Life, which won the Ondaatje Prize in 2012. He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Bath Spa and lives in South London and Geneva.