This is the story of a Danish king, his rogue queen and his musicians and their loves in the middle ages. This book is written in choppy paragraphs jumping back and forth in time with lots of detail and interesting tidbits about life in that time period. The modern writing style made it very refreshing to read.

Wow, this was an interesting read, if a bit heavy at times. It's about two years in the middle of the reign of the most popular Danish king, Christian IV, namely of the time when he finally got fed up with the antics of his morganatic wife Kirsten Munk and sent her away. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know anything about the historical figures mentioned in the book (apart from Dowland), so I had to check some stuff when I finished, which was about 10 minutes ago.
The book is very long, and has lots and lots of intertwined stories, the most fascinating (for me) being these of the King, Kirsten, and her favorite lady-in-waiting Emilia Tilsen and her family. Truth be told, I'd have enjoyed the book even more if it was told only from Kirsten's perspective, she was such an awesome, wild, fun character. I only waited for her turn with her narrative (in first person, no less). Her confidante Emilia was one of the rare characters which keep reader interested despite their gentleness and meekness. And the portrait of the industrious, courageous King, who was sometimes confused, but always striving for good, and curious about the world, was also compelling. Now that I think of it, I can see that the book made me forget that I was reading about very rich and privileged people, which otherwise would at some point cause me to go "meh, they don't really have much to complain about." The author did great job by showing how dangerous and unsure life used to be past then, how easy it was to lose everything because of war, or an incurable illness, or an accident (all right, it's true for us living today too, but not to this extent), even if someone was more well-to-do and more influential than the most.
Not all the characters were equally absorbing, alas, I didn't like Emilia's love interest Peter Claire (maybe because the author kept referring to him always using both his last and first names; it's guaranteed to annoy me for some reason), he was very bland. Also, I didn't like the treatment of Emilia's stepmother Magdalena, and as to the business with Kirsten's successor Vibeke, the truth seems to be different from the version of the book. But these are minor quibbles really, and I just devoured this whole huge story, and loved the details (although the style was a bit on the pompous side when Kirsten wasn't speaking, and I really wish historical authors didn't always try to build such long fences of two-dollar Phrases about how the wind Blowing Around brings us Consolation and signifies Stuff or Whatever).

One of the many books the previous owner of the house left. I stopped reading shortly after the king laments that he can no longer smell the lilacs and linden in spring. Either the author is ignorant and lazy or trying to show that the king is not only physically ill but also completly insane, not just dementia as basic experiences repeated from childhood are not the first to go. The rest of the writing felt contrived and uninteresting. Not the ”perfect novel” as Swedish magazine Amelia claims (quoted on the cover).

While reading this book, I felt I was being told a fairytale by my mother. The writing is so unique and fun, moreover the humor of the writer is great. The chapters jump from one character's life to another, which I thought was going to be an issue at the beginning, but I ended up easily getting a hold of it. Rose Tremain combines a very romantic, interesting story with parts of Denmark's actual history. Additionally, the presence of art and music throughout the book is quite enjoyable. I loved Music and Silence, could not put it down.

This novel, which I first read some years ago, delighted me on every page. I am not a big fan of historical fiction and in this story, about King Christian IV of Denmark, the descriptions and the characters interested me more than the history.

The novel deals directly with a two year span (1629 - 1630. Late in his reign, the King is in despair about ever increasing economic difficulties and the estrangement between him and his once much-loved wife, Kirsten Munk. As part of his orchestra, he employs Peter Claire, an English lute player whom he comes to see as his guardian angel.

There are criticisms that could be made of the book - the very large number of characters, the unrounded character of Peter and the unlikely passion between him and the lady's maid, Emilia. I recognised these flaws but the precision and lyricism of the writing more than compensated. It reminded me of a tapas meal or a Bruegel painting - the pleasures lie in the details. The characters of Christian and Kirsten are well developed, while many of the minor characters, such as the lady's maid Vibeke and Emilia's strange younger brother, Marcus are excellent vignettes.

While set nearly 400 years ago, this novel has immediacy and depth of feeling that makes it impressively modern.

Enjoyed this story of a young musician in the 17th century Danish court - brilliantly realised and full of intriguing detail.

A wonderfully woven tapestry of differnt lives weaved together. Years later, I still think about these characters.

Just arrived from USA through BM. Didn't like it so much, quite boring or I'm not in the right mood to read it now, who knows?

"Set in seventeenth-century Denmark, Rose Tremain's dazzling, prize-winning tale is a pungently atmospheric, richly provocative, and masterfully orchestrated romance of point and counterpoint: loyalty and deception...tenderness and violence...community and alienation...peace and conflict..."Music & Silence."
"Peter Claire is an English lutenist summoned to Denmark to join King Christian IV's royal orchestra. Designated the king's "Angel" because of the purity of his physical beauty, Peter falls helplessly in love with the lovely companion of Queen Kirsten, the king's adulterous wife. The young musician finds himself dangerously torn between loyalties, ensnared in the deep-seated unrest of a royal court where the forces of good and evil, of harmony and dissonance, are ensconced in a battle to the death."
~~back cover

The book was somewhat hard to get into, changing as it does from on character to another, so that the novel comes together like a jigsaw puzzle ... becoming more complete the farther one reads. Because it depicts life in the 17th century, the characters and the action are sometimes unfathomable. At other times, they respond to circumstances much as we would today.
This isn't one of my favorite books, but it was a very interesting read.

2003- Peter Claire travels in 1629 from England to Denmark to be part of King Christian IV's orchestra. Swirling around him are tons of stories, and at least 12+ different viewpoints are used in the book, each showing the differences of how people's age, sex and status makes them view events. King Christian and his wife Kirsten's marriage is on the rocks, the country of Denmark is almost broke, and Peter and his love Emilia are kept away from each other. We also see the stories of how King Christian rose to become a king, and how Peter's sister prepares for a marriage at home, while Emilia's family falls apart because of her wicked stepmother's horrible games. You will not be able to predict what will happen next, and you often wonder if Peter and Emilia will EVER be reunited with all lies and deceptions surrounding them. This is truly one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read."

I had meant to read this one for a while, but did not pick it up until this month. As I closed the book after the last page I searched my brain how I felt about and I think it is one of those novels that will take a little while to truly form an opinion on.

For now I will say I enjoyed it, even if part of it left unsavoury taste in my mouth. Not because the content is shocking or unsavoury, more that there are quite a few characters in this book that are either unlikable, have mental health issues, or are simply not the most pleasant characters to follow. Now, I don’t mind this generally, but here it felt both at times very clever and sometimes just not quite necessary.

I enjoyed the setting in 17th century Europe and the writing really is very good. If you asked me what this book was about, I would say it was about greed and desire and a little about love. Just a little.

I would recommend this one for sure and I would read more by this author. I am just not quite sure whether I truly loved it yet. Come back to me in a few weeks.

کتاب در کپنهاک 1629آغاز میشود .زمانی که پیتر کلر جوان وزیبا با عودش وارد دربار شاه کریستیان چهارم پادشاه دانمارک میشود پیتر کلر شاه را به یاد دوست دوران کودکیش میاندازد وقصه ادامه می یابد نویسنده کم کم شخصیت های مستقلی را وارد قصه میکند که هر کدام قصه ای جدا گانه دارند ولی رمان را منسجم میکنند .مانند کریستین مونک همسر پادشاه ودیگر افراد . شیوه نگارش جالب است .مهمترین چیز روح وحس وموسیقی است که از سکوت درون ادمها برمیخیزد واین موسیقی برخواسته از سکوت در هر شخصیت به نحوی خاص بروز میکند .در یکی با مهربانی //در دیگری با شهوت //در یکی با حیله گری ونیرنگ ودر شخصیت دیگری به صورت جنون واصوات ماورایی ..ترجمه استاد یونسی هم مثل همیشهه زیبا وبی نقص وعالی است ..