Born in Clermont-Ferrand (west of Lyon) to a French mother and an English father, Georges Onslow was a gentleman composer and performer who was highly regarded for his musical talents in France, Germany and beyond during his lifetime. His father Edward (1758–1829), had been forced into quiet exile to France in 1781, having been part of a homosexual scandal—but within two years of arriving, he had married Marie-Rosalie de Bourdeilles de Brantôme and the couple were to have four children, of whom Georges was the eldest. Although the family remained in Clermont-Ferrand, the subsequent reconciliation between Edward and his family was to make it possible for Georges and his siblings to travel to England, and this only served to advance his musical ambitions. ...