Music and Silence
Encyclopedia
Music and Silence is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 written by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 author Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain CBE is an English author.-Life:Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on August 2, 1943 in London and attended Francis Holland School then Crofton Grange School from 1954 to 1961; the Sorbonne from 1961–1962; and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1965 where she then...

. It is set in and around the court of Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

 in the years 1629 and 1630.

The book won Best Novel at the 1999 Whitbread Awards
1999 Whitbread Awards
-Children's Book:Winner:*J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanShortlist:*Carol Ann Duffy, Meeting Midnight*Michael Morpurgo, Kensuke's Kingdom*Jacqueline Wilson, The Illustrated Mum-First Novel:Winner:...

.

The main historical event depicted is the end of Christian's second marriage, to Kirsten Munk
Kirsten Munk
Kirsten Munk was a Danish noble, the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and mother to twelve of his children.- Early life and Morganatic marriage:...

, and the start of his third, to Vibeke Kruse
Vibeke Kruse
Vibeke Kruse was the official mistress of King Christian IV of Denmark between 1629 and 1648 and the mother of one of his three acknowledged, illegitimate sons, Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve. She was described as influential.- Biography :...

. There are also numerous sub-plots and parallel stories, the main one being the love affair between two fictional characters, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 lutenist Peter Claire and Emilie Tilsen, a Danish servant of Kirsten's. In addition there are several references to Danish history and flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

to Christian's childhood and subsequent development.
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