The Trapp family on wheels (by Maria von Trapp)

(Amazon UK link)

Since I re-read the book ‘The sound of music’ (originally known as ‘The Trapp family singers’) a month or so ago, I decided to read its sequel, ‘The Trapp family on wheels’, which was sitting on our shelves. I have no idea where we acquired it, nor do I have any memory of having read it before. The front cover states that it’s an ‘enchanting sequel’, and the blurb at the back says that it will appeal to anyone who read the first book. It's written, as with the first book, by Maria von Trapp. 

It was originally published in 1959 before the well-known film ‘The Sound of Music’ was produced in 1965, and the title then was just 'A family on wheels'. My edition is a paperback from 1966 which has a photo of Julie Andrews on the back. That was, I assume, for the sake of publicity since this volume charts the Trapp family’s singing career, in the United States and elsewhere, long after the events described in the film, which are loosely based on the first half of the first book.

As with the earlier book, Maria von Trapp writes in the first person, and her voice comes through in the informality, and somewhat rambling nature of the anecdotes. It starts in 1955, when they had stopped singing as a family, and the author mentions a family gathering where reminiscences abound, and she is encouraged to write this book.  It works well as an introduction, including a very brief summary of the first book and some subsequent family-related events.

The action then moves to September 1949 as the family, including Maria’s own three small children, embark on a tour in the United States. It gives a good picture of the organisation required to set up the various concerts, and the amount of luggage that they take with them. There’s a bit of homeschooling for the younger children, who are no longer left behind in boarding schools, and there’s a lot of extra paraphernalia - not just musical, but artistic as well.  They have a modified van that seats everyone, including the priest who travels with them and who arranges and conducts all the music.

The first few chapters mention incidents, insights and explanations about what was involved in the concerts. They stay in a variety of places, and have to learn new music as well as regularly rehearsing their current repertoire. They are mostly well-received. Through the book their Catholic heritage comes through not just in the music but in their regular prayers, masses and conversations. 

They then take to the air for international destinations including Europe, South America and - eventually - Australia and New Zealand. The style is chatty with a lot of paragraphs ending in ellipses; I don’t know if this was deliberate or an editing flaw. It doesn’t bother me, particularly, but does suggest that much more could have been said.

As with the first book, I found the sheer number of singers and other people rather overwhelming, and didn’t figure out who was whom in many cases. In each tour, some of the family members remain at home, either the family home in Vermont or their own families. Some of the older children have married and have families of their own; at one point Maria mentions that she has twelve grandchildren, but by that stage I had forgotten where they came into the picture. We never really meet them anyway.

The only person who begins to feel three-dimensional and distinct is Johannes, Maria’s youngest, who is around ten at the start of the first tour. He comes across as a delightfully curious child, keen on collecting flora and fauna of many varieties, including unpleasant insects at times. 

During the tours and concerts, there are many incidents that evidently stuck in the author’s memory - sometimes mistakes, sometimes things said in error due to language problems, sometimes last-minute problems. I could see that some of them would have been amusing at the time, but somehow the writing didn’t bring out the humour and I didn’t even smile. I liked the human touch, but feel that some editing would have helped the pace and brought the anecdotes to life.

I kept reading, although the details of music mostly passed me by. I was slightly surprised by some opinions and words that would be considered racist nowadays. But they were probably typical of the 1940s, and they’re made in the context of caring deeply about everyone, even if they find their customs ‘primitive’, or find their dress cute or amusing. 

I’m glad I read ‘The Trapp family on wheels’, for an impression of the hard work and dedication that went into this family’s professional lives. The book also demonstrates their love for each other, and for God. When they finally give up singing - and the last chapter picks up on the first - some of Maria’s ‘children’ (by then adults, of course) go out on the mission field as teachers or nurses. 

Worth reading if you’re interested in what happened after the first book (the film is a very sanitised and much-changed version of the reality) but it’s not the greatest writing, and I doubt if I’ll read this again.

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