A review by krismcd59
Music & Silence by Rose Tremain

4.0

Tremain is the award-winning author of the beautiful novel of 1660's London, Restoration -- which was also made into a pretty good movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Meg Ryan. Music and Silence is equally beautiful, but less focused than Restoration -- it's told in the voices of at least four characters. The setting is Denmark, 1629-30, in the court of the brilliant but emotionally unstable King Christian IV. The novel's protagonist, John Clare, is a lutenist hired to play in the King's orchestra, which performs far below the King's throne room, in a dark, freezing basement that allows the heavenly sound of the music to emerge through a series of pipes. King Christian is fond of devising such strange special effects, but his efforts are all pitiful substitutes for the lost love of his beautiful, selfish wife, Kirsten. She, in her turn, has begun a sadomasochistic affair with a German count -- her diary entries are the most entertaining parts of the novel. The fourth main character is Kirsten's lady-in-waiting, Emilia Tilsen, with whom Clare falls in love. The lives of all four intertwine over the course of a year, as the King looks to Clare and his music for healing, Kirsten navigates her dangerous games, and Emilia tries to save her young brother, who is trapped in a household straight out of the Brothers Grimm, complete with an evil stepmother. It's difficult to develop strong feelings about any of the characters (except perhaps Kirsten), but Tremain's magical prose style and detailed descriptions of Renaissance food, music, art and clothing will satisfy historical fiction buffs and romance fans alike.