Music & Silence

WINNER OF THE WHITBREAD NOVEL AWARD

'The best thing from Denmark since Hamlet.' John Julius Norwich

In the year 1629, a young English lutenist named Peter Claire arrives at the Danish Court to join King Christian IV's Royal Orchestra.

In 1629, young English lutenist Peter Claire arrives at the Danish court believing music will secure his future. Instead, he enters a world shaped by suspicion, rivalry and royal power.

Set in Denmark and in the shadow of the Thirty Years’ War, Music & Silence follows Peter as he joins King Christian IV’s royal orchestra at Rosenborg Castle. The musicians perform in a freezing cellar beneath the splendour of the court, a stark contrast to the glittering chambers above. Yet although he is favoured by the King and nicknamed his “Angel”, Peter is drawn into a forbidden love affair with Emilia Tilsen, companion to the King’s estranged wife, Kirsten Munk – and further into court intrigue.

As King Christian’s authority weakens, loyalties fracture. Letters are intercepted, alliances shift, and both Emilia and Peter are threatened with a separation that might extinguish their fragile happiness.

Moving between Copenhagen, Norway and Jutland, Music & Silence tells a story of ambition, political manoeuvring and love tested by exile.

‘The best thing from Denmark since Hamlet.’ John Julius Norwich
‘The best historical novelist of her generation… an unforgettable tapestry of Eros and art.’ A. N. Wilson