THE REASONS why the first love of composer Sir Edward Elgar broke up with him for good are explored in a brand new book.
Author and historian Cora Weaver’s latest title ‘Elgar: Variations and Enigmas’ focuses on the life of Helen Weaver who was once engaged to the music great who lived in Worcester and Malvern during his eventful life.
Cora – a long distant relative of Helen – who has lived in Malvern for more than 30 years, has travelled to different parts of the country and as far as New Zealand to track down the reasons why Helen, born and raised in Worcester, became the first girl to break Elgar’s heart.
Helen and Elgar were engaged in 1883 but it is believed she broke off the pair’s engagement sometime during the following year when the pair were living in Worcester.
It was not until Elgar married Alice Roberts several years later when his career started to reach significant heights.
The 112-page book, which was officially launched during the weekend, is Cora’s second book about Elgar. Her first book The Thirteenth Enigma? was published in the late 1980s but has not been available for many years.
Cora, who also teaches at the Worcestershire County Museum in Hartlebury told The Observer she enjoyed every part of writing the book.
“It’s been an absolute delight to put this book together and I hope many people will enjoy it too,” she said.
“In those days engagement was always a precursor to marriage and something dreadfully wrong would have had to happen for it to be ended.
“So the book explores why she broke off the engagement and there are a number of reasons why this could have happened.
“The book also features Helen’s friend Annie Groveham who spent two weeks in Leipzig with Elgar and Helen in 1883. She disappeared from Elgar’s life but, half a century later, in the 1930s, began to correspond with Elgar and his daughter Carice.”
Sir Edward Elgar is one of Malvern’s most famous residents and a statue of him is situated in Belle Vue Island.
The book has taken about three years to write with Cora dipping into diaries, old newspapers and online archives to find out more about her cousin.
Copies of the book are available to buy at The Hive in Worcester, the Elgar Birthplace Museum in Broadheath, Malvern Book Cooperative and The Tourist Information Centre on Church Street from £12.99.
Signed copies of the book are also available by emailing [email protected].
