1809. Vienna.

Napoleon's troops occupy the city.

Ludwig van Beethoven is composing his masterworks.

Count Rasumovsky, the wealthy and well-connected Russian ambassador, appears more interested in aristocratic friendships and patronage of the arts than in his duties as a statesman.

Into his life comes Sophie. Although she is only the wife of lowly musician Franz Weiss, Sophie turns out to be a jealous and un-compliant mistress.

As Franz and his colleagues rehearse Beethoven's string quartets their problems, like the chords they play, overlap and intertwine.

Rasumovsky and Beethoven clash on a personal and professional level too, against a backdrop of a city and continent at odds with itself.

The campaign of 1812 leads to Napoleon's downfall, but at the subsequent Congress of Vienna pressure mounts on Rasumovsky. Private passions, and political intrigue, lead inexorably towards tragedy.

The Rasumovsky Quartets is a deft and dramatic novel, which captures the turmoil of complex characters and the colourful society they inhabit.

Mark Paffard has worked in teaching, housing and social care. He lives in Pembrokeshire. This is his first novel.