Out of the Silence

Out of the Silence

by Wendy James
published 2005
Ligature finest
genre Crime · Historical Fiction · Literary Fiction

The dawn of the 20th century brings three remarkable women into each other’s orbit. Maggie Heffernan is a spirited country girl whose betrayal sends her spiralling into desperation and tragedy. Vida Goldstein is a suffragist about to make political history. And Elizabeth Hamilton, heartbroken after the death of her fiancé and hoping for a new life in a new country, brings them together with her grace and empathy as she searches for justice and mercy.
Out of the Silence weaves historical fact with poetic invention in a captivating story of hope and ambition, regret and consolation, and the quest to right personal and political wrongs.

‘This is a work of intelligence and talent informed by a deeply humane sensitivity ... If Wendy James aspires to be our national novelist, she is on her way. In equal measures intellectual and sensual, Out of the Silence is a brilliantly cut literary gem sparkling from every angle.’ —Sydney Morning Herald

‘Her pitch is perfect, her style of a limpid beauty, her reach deep and her characters real, haunting, disturbing. Such a writer is Wendy James. Such a novel is Out of the Silence—beautiful yet disturbing, deep yet accessible, full of real, human characters yet exploring wider social and moral questions, combining the pace and story of commercial fiction with the range and depth of literary fiction.’ —Sophie Masson

‘This novel reminds us how hard the fight was for women’s rights, and how some issues (childcare, contraception) remain contentious. Yet its historical recreation is achieved via characters who are flesh and blood, and who touch the reader. Recommended.’ —Lucy Sussex, Sunday Age