Editorial Content for The Silent Boy
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The year is 1792, and Paris, France is teeming with unrest and on the brink of a full-blown revolution. Amidst the expected horrors that come along with any form of battle is a young British boy. What he has witnessed is horrific enough to have turned him mute and made him the target of some dangerous people.
Ten-year-old Charles may or may not be the son of London businessman Edward Savill. When Edward learns of the death of his estranged wife, Augusta, it is requested that he come and retrieve Charles, who has been shipped from Paris to a house in England called Charnwood Court. Edward finds out that this country home is being leased by a group of émigré refugees.
"Andrew Taylor does a great job building the suspense around [burning] questions, and the novel twists and turns before finishing with a satisfying conclusion."
The story opens with what can only be translated as the words of warning Charles heard before he went mute: “Say nothing. Not a word to anyone. Whatever you see. Whatever you hear. Do you understand? Say nothing. Ever.” It is no wonder we never hear Charles utter a single word in THE SILENT BOY.
When Edward arrives at Charnwood, he is met with several surprises --- not the least of which is learning that his possible son is a mute. A man named Rampton is handling the affair, and he warns Edward that a Monsieur de Quillon and Monsieur Fournier held the papers attesting to Augusta's death and burial. Rampton also indicates that de Quillon wishes to retain Charles as he infers he may actually be the boy’s father.
Like a mysterious horror or haunted house novel, Edward finds Charnwood Court to be a strange place that is easy to enter but not so easy to leave. He is drugged and told he is suffering from a violent toothache that requires extraction. During this hazy period, a startling thing occurs: Charles disappears. We find out that he was taken by a man in a blue coat. The identity of this person is not immediately revealed, and I won't spoil anything here.
What remains at the heart of THE SILENT BOY is this burning question: What did Charles see or hear that made him turn mute? Also, who are the dangerous individuals who still seek to silence him permanently? Author Andrew Taylor does a great job building the suspense around these questions, and the novel twists and turns before finishing with a satisfying conclusion.
Teaser
Edward Savill, working in London as an agent for a wealthy American, receives word that his estranged wife, Augusta, has been killed in France. She leaves behind 10-year-old Charles, who is brought to England to Charnwood Court, a house in the country leased by a group of émigré refugees. Savill is sent to retrieve the boy, though it proves easier to reach Charnwood than to leave. And only when Savill arrives there does he discover that Charles is mute. The boy has witnessed horrors beyond his years, but what terrible secret haunts him so deeply that he is unable to utter a word?
Promo
Edward Savill, working in London as an agent for a wealthy American, receives word that his estranged wife, Augusta, has been killed in France. She leaves behind 10-year-old Charles, who is brought to England to Charnwood Court, a house in the country leased by a group of émigré refugees. Savill is sent to retrieve the boy, though it proves easier to reach Charnwood than to leave. And only when Savill arrives there does he discover that Charles is mute. The boy has witnessed horrors beyond his years, but what terrible secret haunts him so deeply that he is unable to utter a word?
About the Book
From the #1 bestselling author of THE AMERICAN BOY comes a brilliant new historical thriller set during the French Revolution. Selected as Historical Novel of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times, and picked as one of Radio 4’s Crime Books of the Year.
Paris, 1792. Terror reigns as the city writhes in the grip of revolution. The streets run with blood as thousands lose their heads to the guillotine. Edward Savill, working in London as agent for a wealthy American, receives word that his estranged wife Augusta has been killed in France. She leaves behind 10-year-old Charles, who is brought to England to Charnwood Court, a house in the country leased by a group of émigré refugees.
Savill is sent to retrieve the boy, though it proves easier to reach Charnwood than to leave. And only when Savill arrives there does he discover that Charles is mute. The boy has witnessed horrors beyond his years, but what terrible secret haunts him so deeply that he is unable to utter a word?
