Temptation Rag

Bernard’s resonant novel is about the birth and demise of ragtime and the white players who fought for fame in the genre. In 1895, a white piano player/composer named Ben Harney claims to be “the originator of ragtime.” He is exceptionally talented, and black musicians unsuccessfully try to assert that the style belongs to them. After a quick lesson from Ben, a young, white New York piano teacher named Mike Bernard adopts the ragtime technique despite his classical training, and when his career begins to take off, he ends a brief love affair with wealthy May Convrey. Mike’s fame and fortune increases after he wins a competition, earning him the title of Ragtime King of the World. Meanwhile, May has reluctantly married a man her father chose for her, and she eventually pursues her own interests as a poet. The paths of May, Mike, and Ben occasionally cross as the decades pass—historical conflicts such as women’s suffrage stirring around them—and, true to life, nothing turns out quite as anyone had expected. The descriptions of performances and environments are luxuriously crafted, resulting in a lively tale in which romance and creative passions abound. (BookLife)