Madensky Square - Eva Ibbotson

Madensky Square is Eva Ibbotson's magical novel set in that most poignant of all times and places - Vienna before the First World War.
Susanna's dress shop stands in the delightful Madensky Square and is the very hub and heart of life. Susanna sympathizes with her neighbours, watches over Signi, the wretched, orphaned child prodigy, and with her infallible eye for dress, turns an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
Of all the colourful characters in Madensky Square, only her dear friend Alice has the slightest inkling that Susanna hides more than one secret. This hidden life, full of passion and anguish, gradually unfolds in a city of romance, music and gossip.
'Sunshine and shadows, laughter and tears . . . the grace and gaiety of a Viennese waltz' - Sunday Telegraph.