Music and Silence

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Music and Silence
MusicAndSilence.jpg
First edition (publ. Chatto & Windus)
Author Rose Tremain
Audio read by Michael Praed, Clare Wille, and Alison Dowling
Genre Historical fiction
Publication date
1999
ISBN 978-0-701-17152-0

Music and Silence is a historical novel written by English author Rose Tremain. [1] [2] The audiobook, released in 2009, is narrated by Michael Praed, Clare Wille, and Alison Dowling. [3]

Music and Silence is set in and around the court of Christian IV of Denmark in the years 1629 and 1630. 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. [4] [5] The Guardian gave the novel an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on reviews from multiple British newspapers. [6]

The book won the 1999 Whitbread Award for Novel.

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References

  1. "Music and Silence". Kirkus Reviews . 15 March 2000. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. "Music & Silence by Rose Tremain". Publishers Weekly . 3 April 2000. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  3. "Music & Silence by Rose Tremain". Publishers Weekly . 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  4. "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 16 October 1999. p. 72. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. "Books of the moment: What the papers said". The Daily Telegraph. 2 October 1999. p. 68. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  6. "The Review of Reviews". The Guardian . 10 September 1999. p. 96. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.