This book examines the career of Polish pianist and composer, Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831), through extensive use of primary source material. After a thorough biography, a comprehensive bibliography lists all of the composer's works and literature, including letters written by Szymanowska, her family, and contemporaries and 19th-century concert reviews, providing important historical context and details about the difficulties and successes of a 19th-century woman musician.