The Hawk of Yonezawa: Historical Fiction with J.S. Bach

The Hawk of Yonezawa is a short novel, or novella, about the fictional adventures of Johann Sebastian Bach who is transported to the island of Japan. Bach is on a rare trip outside his world of Leipzig, Germany, a little after the year 1742. The coach breaks down and he misses the concert that would have featured George Frederic Handel performing his own works. On the return trip he meets a twelve-year-old boy and his young mother.

They find that he knows how to play the organ and so they ...