Peter Nicholls

A Wonderful Change - the Story of Robert Wrede Including His Journal 1837-41 Peter Nicholls

There are few, if any, books about nineteenth century piano tuners. Their lives might be expected to be unexciting and their experiences unremarkable. But the life of Robert Wrede, especially as told in his journal, was far from dull. In the three years he documents (October 1837 - January 1841), he travelled from England to Cape Town, Sydney, to the young Melbourne, and to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Adelaide, Surabaya, Singapore, three cities in India, and a number of small islands in between. He was almost lost at sea on several occasions, and suffered numerous horse riding or carriage accidents. He became an accomplished marksman, learned sufficient of the art of navigation to be able to take over from a drunken Captain, played in an historic cricket match, was involved in various romantic episodes, and jumped into the empty grave of one of the most notable figures in history. Meanwhile he tuned dozens of pianos and dined out on hundreds of occasions.