Daughter of Silence
 First edition | |
| Author | Morris West |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1961 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 274 pp |
| Preceded by | The Naked Country |
| Followed by | The Shoes of the Fisherman |
Daughter of Silence (1961) is a crime novel by Australian author Morris West.[1]
Plot outline[edit]
In mid-summer in a Tuscan village a twenty-four-year-old woman shoots the town's mayor dead in revenge for the death of her mother during the war. The subsequent trial brings out secrets both personal and political.
Critical reception[edit]
Joyce Halstead in The Australian Women's Weekly was impressed with the work: "Excellent writing in an attractive novel which uses all the gimmicks for modern reader success - an Italian setting, a court scene with a beautiful young woman on trial for murder, and intricately woven love affairs...The whole resolves itself fairly expectedly and tritely - but the intellectual arguments, convincing dialogue, emotional undertones, and competently wrought plot make it a very satisfying story."[2]
Broadway play[edit]
| Daughter of Silence | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Morris West |
| Based on | Daughter of Silence by Morris West |
| Date premiered | November 30, 1961 |
Daughter of Silence was adapted as a Broadway play in 1961 with Janet Margolin who received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[3]
This play was performed at the Music Box Theatre, New York, in September 1961. It was directed by Vincent J. Donehue. It ran for 36 performances.[4]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- Dedication: For Hilda
- Epigraph: Alta vendetta d'alto silenzio e figlia/ Noble vengeance is the daughter of deep silence./ (Alfieri: La Congiura de' Pazzi, Act 1. Sc. 1.)
References[edit]
- ^ Austlit - Daughter of Silence by Morris West
- ^ "Your Bookshelf" by Joyce Halstead, The Australian Women's Weekly, 10 January 1962, p14
- ^ Daughter of Silence at Playbill
- ^ A Letter from New York: The Current Theatrical Season Miguel A. Bernad Philippine Studies Vol. 10, No. 2 (April 1962), pp. 304-312 (9 pages)
External links[edit]
- Daughter of Silence at Ausstage
- Daughter of Silence at IBDB