Ellen was the author's great-aunt, who died when he was sixteen years old. She was arguably Canada's best-known pianist internationally prior to Glenn Gould. Now a forgotten figure, she had a dazzling concert career, a glittering social life, and a sizzling private life. The research in writing her biography took Goldbloom into archives across England, Canada, the United States and Brazil, as well as into private letters and diaries that informed the resulting story. Television performances by Ellen in the United States and Canada, unseen in the 70 years since their initial live broadcasts, have been unearthed. Her LP recordings have been digitized. But her extraordinary story, part of Canada's musical, social, and Jewish heritage, remains largely unknown.
