Silence: A Literary History

“This is a magnificent work, exhilarating in the breadth of its journeys through time, across religious divides, and from intimate lullabies to public protests. McLoughlin has written a British literary history for our times, alert to the unsaid and the suppressed, teeming with variegated riches, demonstrating the power of dauntless reading, deep scholarship, and contemplative curiosity as we listen for the voices of the living past.” — Alexandra Harris, author of Weatherland: Writers & Artists Under English Skies

“Silence: A Literary History is a fascinating journey through English Literature, from the Middle Ages to the present, by way of its absences, stillnesses, and breakings-off. Kate Mcloughlin writes beautifully, with great erudition, and revels in the paradox of being so eloquent on the subject of missing words.” — Bart van Es, author of The Cut Out Girl

“Intellectually ambitious in the best way, Kate McLoughlin’s new book offers an extraordinary meditation on literary silences. When so many critical studies are focused on texts within a defined period, it is quietly exhilarating to be taken through twelve centuries of different kinds of silence by such a learned and thoughtful guide. This is a powerful, deeply considered account which looks set to become the standard point of reference for years to come.” — Fiona Stafford, author of Time and Tide: The Long, Long Life of Landscape

“Silence: A Literary History richly demonstrates how much there is to say about the gaps, pauses, cessations and quiet places of literature. Kate McLoughlin provides an erudite and readable tour of literary silences in their many moods and variations, combining acute close readings with sweeping breadth. This is, to a rare extent, both a learned and a moving book.” — Joe Moshenska, author of Making Darkness Light: The Lives and Times of John Milton

“[Silence] dazzles not only for its encyclopedic reach but its sinuous way with words. … It will take time for this book to sink in but we suspect it will go down as a landmark.” — Richard Lofthouse, QUAD

“[A] rich and rewarding book.” — Gavin Plumley, Country Life

“[A] book of literary criticism that feels like a lyric poem. [Silence] is a wonderful achievement.” — Robert Eaglestone, Literary Review

“McLoughlin provides original, sensitive close readings of texts both canonical and obscure, so you emerge from the book with fresh insights into passages of Shakespeare and Rossetti you thought you knew well, as well as new knowledge of medieval lullabies and contemporary Black British poetry…. For one scholar to master the whole span of English literature with so much nuance and depth, making important interventions in not one but a whole range of specialist areas, is a remarkable achievement.” — Aili Winstanley Channer, The Tablet

“This is a magnificent work, exhilarating in the breadth of its journeys through time, across religious divides, and from intimate lullabies to public protests. McLoughlin has written a British literary history for our times, alert to the unsaid and the suppressed, teeming with variegated riches, demonstrating the power of dauntless reading, deep scholarship, and contemplative curiosity as we listen for the voices of the living past.” — Alexandra Harris, author of Weatherland: Writers & Artists Under English Skies

“Silence: A Literary History is a fascinating journey through English Literature, from the Middle Ages to the present, by way of its absences, stillnesses, and breakings-off. Kate Mcloughlin writes beautifully, with great erudition, and revels in the paradox of being so eloquent on the subject of missing words.” — Bart van Es, author of The Cut Out Girl

“Intellectually ambitious in the best way, Kate McLoughlin’s new book offers an extraordinary meditation on literary silences. When so many critical studies are focused on texts within a defined period, it is quietly exhilarating to be taken through twelve centuries of different kinds of silence by such a learned and thoughtful guide. This is a powerful, deeply considered account which looks set to become the standard point of reference for years to come.” — Fiona Stafford, author of Time and Tide: The Long, Long Life of Landscape

“Silence: A Literary History richly demonstrates how much there is to say about the gaps, pauses, cessations and quiet places of literature. Kate McLoughlin provides an erudite and readable tour of literary silences in their many moods and variations, combining acute close readings with sweeping breadth. This is, to a rare extent, both a learned and a moving book.” — Joe Moshenska, author of Making Darkness Light: The Lives and Times of John Milton

“[Silence] dazzles not only for its encyclopedic reach but its sinuous way with words. … It will take time for this book to sink in but we suspect it will go down as a landmark.” — Richard Lofthouse, QUAD

“[A] rich and rewarding book.” — Gavin Plumley, Country Life

“[A] book of literary criticism that feels like a lyric poem. [Silence] is a wonderful achievement.” — Robert Eaglestone, Literary Review

“McLoughlin provides original, sensitive close readings of texts both canonical and obscure, so you emerge from the book with fresh insights into passages of Shakespeare and Rossetti you thought you knew well, as well as new knowledge of medieval lullabies and contemporary Black British poetry…. For one scholar to master the whole span of English literature with so much nuance and depth, making important interventions in not one but a whole range of specialist areas, is a remarkable achievement.” — Aili Winstanley Channer, The Tablet