The Miracle of the Met: An Informal History of the Metropolitan Opera, 1883-1967

New York: Meredith Press, 1968. First edition. First Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Hardcover. Very good in good dust jacket. Signed by author. DJ is in a plastic sleeve. Inscription on fep.. xiii, 490 p. illus., ports. 24 cm. Illustrations, Portraits. Selected Bibliography. Index. From an obituary posted on-line: "Quaintance Eaton, a writer of books and articles on opera, died. She was 90 years old. Miss Eaton was born in Kansas City, Mo., and became a devotee of opera long before moving to New York City in the 1920's. She frequently wrote on the subject for Musical America, eventually becoming an associate editor, and was a contributing editor to Opera News. In 1957, her book "Opera Caravan, " an anecdotal history of the Metropolitan Opera on tour, was praised by Howard Taubman, then chief music critic of The New York Times, as "both diverting and informative." In the 1960's, she published two histories that have become standard works: "The Boston Opera Company" (1965) and "The Miracle of the Met" (1968). She was also executive secretary of the National Federation of Music Clubs and of the New York City Opera Guild. Her last book, published in 1987, was "Sutherland and Bonynge: An Intimate Biography, " about Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband, the conductor Richard Bonynge."