Music and Silence

Music and Silence is a 1999 Historical novel written by Rose Tremain. A sort of melancholy character study, it revolves around the lives of a group of closely connected characters: King Christian IV of Denmark, his wife Kirsten, The king's musician and lutenist, Peter Claire, Claire's love interest, Emilia Tilsen, and her family, and Christin's chaotic and self absorbed mother. Along the way there are flashbacks to the King's childhood friend, Bror Brorson. The novel won several awards but is perhaps most famous for the quality and delicacy of the writing. Be Warned, spoilers will be unmarked.


 * Anguished Declaration of Love: three times.
 * Ambiguously Gay: Bror Brorson. It's heavily implied that he hero worships Christian to such an *extent that other people don't factor into his thinking, and he dies in Christian's arms.
 * Beta Couple: Charlotte and George
 * The Atoner: Johan Tilsen, Vibeke Kruse.
 * Unreliable Narrator: Several. Perhaps most obviously Kirsten, but a very strong case can be made for Francesca as well.
 * The Lost Lenore: Feature frequently. Emilia's Mother is the strongest example, being this trope to Emilia's entire family. Peter is this to Francesca, and Bror Brorson is a tragic example for Christian.
 * Your Cheating Heart: Francesca had an affair with Peter when very much married, and at the novel's climax she's about to get married again while still in love with him
 * Manipulative Bitch: Kirsten takes the absolute and proverbial cake with this.
 * Ho Yay: The relationship between Christian and Bror has heavily implied overtones of this. At any rate, it's incredibly intense and probably not healthy, and leaves Christian mentally fragile for years afterwards. We also have a one sided version with Kirsten towards Emilia.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Emilia
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Marcus is the absolute personification of this, while Emilia also has shades of it
 * Living Emotional Crutch: Peter is frequently cast in this role, something he bitterly resents.