Hear No Evil: Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2023

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The case is built up upon the developing trust between Jean and Robert in the decaying Tolbooth Jail although the gaol Glasgow is expertly brought to life in this accomplished novel which takes as its base material the case of Jean Campbell, a young Deaf woman accused of murdering her baby. Already, perhaps, you can see both why Smith was drawn to this story and – because of her insistence that early sign language be a key part of it – the difficulties inherent in telling it. The story is told well, as gradually Robert tries first to get Jean to explain what really happened to her baby, and then to try to find the evidence to free her.

As Robert treads a fine line between interpreter and investigator, he becomes absolutely determined to clear her name before it is too late. I found the history around the “deaf and dumb” societies and schools fascinating and it has helped fill in a lot of my ignorance around the subject.Jean Campbell, a deaf woman, is accused of drowning her child, but communication with her has been impossible.

The focus of the narration is however firmly in the 21st century, the emphasis is all on what a modern reader would notice most if transplanted to this time, the contrasts between now and 1817. But in many ways this is no bad thing: Smith’s exploration of deaf experience makes for a unique piece of historical fiction. Thank goodness there were enlightened people like Robert Kinniburgh who were determined that people who were deaf should be fully included in society.Based in Edinburgh we meet Robert Kinniburgh (a real person) who ran the city's Deaf and Dumb Institution in Victorian Scotland. Good people are those with attitudes most closely mirroring modern attitudes, bad people are more of their time, the world building is firmly focused on the parts of the cities modern audiences would recognise and be interested in and, when it becomes inconvenient, the narrative voice will waver or switch to more easily convey something.

A brilliant teacher of the deaf and a compassionate man, Kinniburgh visits Jean in prison and slowly, very slowly, wins her confidence and tries to draw out the basic details of her harrowing story. Historical novels are by far my favourite genre of literature and mix in a little mystery and I'm a happy reader. Based on a landmark case in Scottish legal history Hear No Evil is a richly atmospheric exploration of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and Glasgow at a time when progress was only on the horizon. Smith uses a roving perspective and this is handled effectively, her shifts in register and tone consistently applied.This is historical fiction (although at the end found out it is based on a real case) about a deaf woman that has been charged with the murder of a baby and resulting in the subsequent case and trial.