Beatrice and the Nightingale

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Margaret Quinlin Books

(Peachtree)

pub. 2.10.2026

48 pages

Ages 6 - 9

Author: Patricia Newman

   Illustrator: Isabelle Follath

Character: Beatrice Harrison

Overview:

"'On May 19, 1924, a duet between a young cellist and a male nightingale was broadcast across the British Commonwealth as far away as Canada, India, and Australia to over one million listeners. It was an unprecedented collective experience made possible by the invention of the radio and a new microphone that picked up sounds of nature.

Beatrice Harrison, considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century and a musical prodigy, was that cellist...

One evening while Beatrice was practicing her cello in the garden, she heard a creature repeating the music she was playing. It turned out to be a nightingale. She played many nights with the bird and was completely enthralled.

Wanting to share the experience, she convinced the head of the newly formed BBC to take a chance on a live broadcast from her garden. The resulting duet was a smashing success and Beatrice received more than 50,000 letters in response. Overnight, she became known as the Lady of the Nightingales and for twelve years thereafter the cellist and the bird were broadcast annually to BBC listeners from her garden in Surrey."

Tantalizing taste:

"Beatrice played Pietro (her cello) for almost two hours.

Rabbits gnawed the wires.

Insects buzzed.

Squirrels chittered.

The Harrisons' donkey brayed.

But the shy nightingale remained silent.

Beatrice and the engineers nearly gave up ...

Suddenly the nightingale burst into

song, his trills loud and sweet!

He followed Pietro's mellow sound

and added his own flair to a melody

that would surely attract a mate.

Listeners around the world heard the duet."

And something more: Patricia Newman  in A Note from the Author explains: "In 1924, when Beatrice and the BBC first shared the nightingale's song over the airwaves, people usually visited concert halls to celebrate the beauty of music together... On top of all that, no bird had ever before been broadcast live from nature. A new, more sensitive microphone that could pick up sounds and convert them to electromagnetic waves made this crazy idea possible. Listeners were shocked because the sounds were so close to those in nature." A delightful story of a wonderful collaboration and connection!