Eva Ibbotson is known for her charming tales of romance set in a simpler time and place and Madensky Square certainly seems to follow this format. Set in Vienna just before World War I, she details the daily life in and around the small Madensky Square. But if one looks a little closer you’ll find that her observations reveal the darker side of life as well.

The main character, Susanna Weber is known as the fashion designer and seamstress of choice as she produces elegant clothes for the women of Vienna. Her profession gives her open access to a number of lives and she becomes the matchmaker, comforter, confidante and lover. While we, the readers, are aware of the upcoming war that will change their lives forever, Susanna and her friends are more concerned with the daily events in the idyllic Madensky Square.

I actually found Madensky Square to be rather dark and depressing. The secret lives and hidden actions of Susanna and her neighbours were slightly distasteful. Many of Susanna’s friends and, indeed, Susanna herself, are the lovers of married men. Their wives are treated with disdain and mockery and beauty seems to be the goal. Beauty in appearance, clothing or surroundings were important but internal beauty was dismissed. While the writing was light and her descriptions were gorgeous, this story just didn’t have the charm I was expecting. ( )

It's more of a romance with Vienna and a time of beauty than a romance of persons. Tragic and beguiling. Quietly told and measured in pace, beautifully told. ( )

Such a wonderful sense of time and place, and I do love how Ibbotson delivers such a pretty ending for all but the most beautiful thing about this book is the narrator's connections to other human beings. ( )

Susanna keeps a diary for a year documenting her life as a dressmaker in Vienna in 1911. She documents the joys and tragedies of her own life and also of her friends, employees, and customers. Susanna has a married lover who cannot be seen with Susanna publicly but Susanna has long since made the decision to stay with her lover rather than marry someone that she does not love. Her shop assistant Nina is an anarchist who vehemently denies that she has fallen in love with an American capitalist.

This is a charming, beautiful slice-of-life book about the imperial city of Vienna in the last days of the empire before WWI. ( )

An utterly fabulous period piece, and a wonderful kick to the ear for traditional romance detail novels. ( )