I just finished reading J.  D.  Landis's "Longing", a fictionalized account
of the relationship of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck.  It is factual
where the facts are known, but the author "fills in the spaces between the
facts" to provide an engaging and elegantly written narrative.  I am not an
expert on either Robert or Clara, so it's possible that Landis has taken
unwarranted liberties, and of course the conversations and feelings can
only be conjectural.

Still, if the lives of these extraordinary people intrigue you, I think
you'll enjoy this book.  There are wonderful descriptions of Clara's first
meeting Paganini, her first meeting Mendelssohn and Chopin, and her first
meeting Liszt, and Brahms lurks in the background for much of the latter
part of the book.  Clara's father is unhesitatingly painted as a selfish
greedy lout, which he probably deserved.  Clara herself is better depicted
implicitly by Nancy Reich's biography, which left me something like
awestruck by her commitment to her art and her seemingly limitless energy.

This is not a book about music as such; the pieces are mentioned in
passing, mostly Robert and Clara's piano music and their piano concerti;
it is about the people and how they interacted with one another, during
the height of music's Romantic Era.

Very highly recommended, especially to fans of Schumann.  While reading
this book, I listened to everything I had by Robert and Clara, and some
Brahms and Liszt, to provide a musical context.  What an experience!

len.