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If you are a fan of the wildly popular movie, The Sound of Music, this is a spoiler alert. Years ago, I represented Agathe von Trapp, the oldest daughter of the von Trapp clan (Liesl in the movie.) Agathe was then in her mid-eighties and had written a memoir about her life as a member of the von Trapp Family Singers, the true story of their lives and careers.
Agathe as we knew her.
I had been approached by a pair of elderly ladies to see if I would represent a book Agathe had written. Her companion and adopted daughter was some 10 years younger.
They had picked my name out of a registry because I was the closest literary agent to their Baltimore home. Soon enough, my husband Perry and I found ourselves sitting in a little-old-lady living room. Two of their men friends were glaring at me and grilling me as to my intentions. I had to remind them that Agathe approached me.
But soon enough it came out that she had self-published her book with a company that ultimately cheated her of her earnings. The book had, in fact, sold well. Agathe attended many book events and proudly told the tale of having a table next to Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, at a major regional book event, and selling more than 400 of her books while Albom looked on in amazement.
The von Trapp Family Singers in 1941. Agathe is at the far right.
There was nothing I could do to right the wrongs she had suffered at the hands of the cheesy publisher, but I agreed to read the book. Ultimately, I decided to represent Agathe.
As Perry and I left, I asked Agathe about Maria. “Vell, she vas. . .complicated,” she said, rolling her eyes.
As I was to discover, so was Agathe.
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