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Music & Silence (Paperback)

by Rose Tremain (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Music & Silence + The Colour + Sacred Country
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  • This item: Music & Silence by Rose Tremain

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Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (3 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099268558
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099268550
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.9 x 3.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #3 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > T > Tremain, Rose

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Rose Tremain deserves a Hallelujah chorus dedicated just to her: a decade after the appearance of Restoration--and with a range of stunning novels and short story collections before and after it--now comes her glorious and enthralling Music and Silence.

This treasure house of delights, as haunting as it is pleasurable, teems with characters, real and imagined; with intrigues, searches, betrayals, in vivid scene after scene which loop in and out, back and forth, like overlapping and repeated chords.

King Christian IV of Denmark is, in the year of 1630, living in a limbo of fear and rage for his life, his country's ruin, and his wife's not-so-secret adultery. He consoles himself with the weaving of impossible dreams and with music--played by his Royal Orchestra in the freezing cellar at Rosenborg while he listens in his cosy Vinterstue above. Music, he hopes, will create the sublime order he craves. Kirsten, his devious wife, is a continual maker of Beautiful Plans to outwit, avenge, feed her greed. And she detests music.

The awkward duty of assuaging the King's miseries falls to his English lutenist, Peter Claire, his "Angel", whilst Emilia Tilsen must bend to Kirsten's every whim. Yet what Peter and Emilia seek is each other, largely in silence both necessary and cruelly imposed. Other stories, each of them full of fabulous and often joyful and witty invention, intertwine through the Royal Court's machinations: the King's mother who hoards her gold in secret; his boyhood friend, Bror, a tormenting memory; the villagers who suffer and wait in the frozen Numedal; Emilia's mute young brother Marcus. And in Ireland, Johnnie O'Fingal, once a kind father and husband, is driven mad by hearing music of utter divinity in his dreams, but which neither he nor Peter Claire can make earthbound. His devoted but spirited wife has distracted herself with Claire, but now finds herself rejected. Palpable with desire and longing, this extraordinary narrative builds its grand themes in storytelling that is both profound and wonderfully satisfying. --Ruth Petrie --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



Review

'This story is Rose Tremain's most fantastic achievement and also the most extraordinary novel' --www.bfkbooks.com
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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
5 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully lyrical masterpiece., 15 Aug 2001
By A Customer
In Music and Silence, Rose Tremain lyrically reproduces the rich fabric of seventeenth century Denmark as though she was there. As in Restoration, Tremain has succeeded in breathing the past into the book and still infusing the story, that of the court of Christian XV, with a contemporary elegance. The novel is narrated by four different narrators, all of whom are inextricably linked together. We see Kirsten Munk, the King's consort, who is adulterous, vicious and scheming. We also see one of her women, Emilia Tilsen, who is a meek young girl come to serve Kirsten Munk as one of her Women. The pivotal character, and indeed narrator, is perhaps Peter Clare, the lutenist and also the protagonist, who has been appointed the Kings' Angel, because of his good looks. Peter Clare falls in love with Emilia, but their love is soon stopped by the wicked Kirsten, who is banished from court by her husband, as he finally sees her for the evil that she is, thus deciding that if she is not to have any joy in her life, then neither can Emilia. Tremain directs the story with an eye to detail and wit and transports the reader to seventeenth century Denmark, where the air is crisp and smells of spiced wines. Without doubt, Music and Silence is one of the most beautiful, intricateley woven stories I have ever read.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid recreation of 17th century Denmark, 29 Oct 2000
By johare1950@aol.com (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
Tremain has created a masterpiece of historical fiction -- fascinating, informative, richly-detailed. She moves deftly between subplots and sites (Scandinavia and England).

Among the many characters both real and fictitious, Tremain enlivens one of the 17th century's most striking monarchs: Christian IV of Denmark, called the Sun King for the dazzling sweep of his ambitions. While reading this book I visited his tomb, outside Copenhagen. Music & Silence was the perfect introduction to the king and his world.

It's worth noting that readers in Denmark, more familiar with this history than I, have loved this book.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Superb; an exciting historical novel, 14 Aug 2000
By Andrew Howell "andyhowell3" (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This is the first Rose Tremain book that I've read; how I was impressed. 'Music and Silence' is a reminder of just how good the historical novel can be. Everything is here: a range of leading players all trapped in history or circumstance; old ghosts and secrets everywhere; madness, pomposity and all manner of outrageousness; magical realism in the Danish forests. Superbly crafted and easy to read - in the best sense of the phrase.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine book, engrossing and well written
This is the sort of book that you can dive in and lose yourself in. A well-plotted, well-researched , absorbing story with lots of characters, both likeable and not so likeable... Read more
Published 6 days ago by H. Lacroix

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
Wonderful story, very uplifting. Couldn't put this book down. Gives you a great insight into 17th century Denmark and is a love story to boot.
Published 2 months ago by Row

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear.
Having read the other reviews on here I wonder whether I actually read the same book. I was given this book as a present by a friend whose taste is normally similar to mine. Read more
Published 4 months ago by BM

3.0 out of 5 stars Seems goods
Bought this as a gift, so all I can say is that the delivery was O.K.
Published 9 months ago by C. J. Mclarnon

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous
A broad, rich tapestry of a novel, brimming with interconnected characters. My favourite must surely be the spoilt and outrageous Kirsten who sizzles and crackles from the page,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by daisyrock

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning
One of the most absorbing reads this summer. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written historical novel.
Published 14 months ago by Duncan Cairns

4.0 out of 5 stars An imaginative entry into a little known world
The book opens in 1629, when Peter Claire, a young English lutenist, arrives to take up his post as a musician at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2007 by Ralph Blumenau

5.0 out of 5 stars I am Danish myself
I am Danish myself, and tremain opened my eyes for many things and exellent details about his reign, things i've never heard before. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2004 by Jette Nielsen

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Probably one of the best books I have read in years. I didnt want it to end. Every page painted a picture and the story kept you clinging to every word.
Published on 31 Jan 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Let us not forget Eros!
Whilst I echo the sentiments of other reviews, not one has touched on the way that Tremain weaves a delicious erotic thread through the storyline which tells us just enough to let... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2003

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