Music and Silence

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First edition (publ. Chatto & Windus) MusicAndSilence.jpg
First edition (publ. Chatto & Windus)

Music and Silence is a historical novel written by English author Rose Tremain. It is set in and around the court of Christian IV of Denmark in the years 1629 and 1630.

The book won Best Novel at the 1999 Whitbread Awards.

The main historical event depicted is the end of Christian's second marriage, to Kirsten Munk, and the start of his third, to Vibeke Kruse. There are also numerous sub-plots and parallel stories, the main one being the love affair between two fictional characters, an English lutenist Peter Claire and Emilia Tilsen, a Danish servant of Kirsten's. In addition there are several references to Danish history and flashbacks to Christian's childhood and subsequent development.

Reception

Music and Silence was generally well-received among British press. [1] [2] The Guardian gave the novel an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on reviews from multiple British newspapers. [3]

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References

  1. "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 2 Oct 1999. p. 68. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 16 Oct 1999. p. 72. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. "The Review of Reviews". The Guardian. 10 Sep 1999. p. 96. Retrieved 19 July 2024.