Costa Book Awards 2009 Judges' comment: "A beautifully-written evocation of place, loss and family."
William Fiennes' account of growing up at Broughton Castle is charming and full of detail. It makes all those childhood dreams of growing up in ones own castle come flooding back. Along with this though is the story of Williams's brother Richard who suffered from epilepsy and despite the stresses this caused the family there is an overwhelming feeling of love throughout. A sensitively and honestly told memoir
‘Fiennes has exceptional gifts, and he has written a small masterpiece, a tribute to the power of place, family and memory’ Sunday Telegraph William Fiennes’ childhood was one of imagination and curiosity, bounded only by the horizon he saw from the roof-tiles of his ancient family home. His older brother Richard, known for his towering presence, his inventiveness, his great passion for Leeds United, and his suffering due to severe epilepsy, was an adored and charismatic figure in his life. Years later, eager to understand his brother’s mind as fully as the ancient trees and secret haunts of his own journey towards adulthood, William Fiennes has written a profoundly moving account of his home, his family’s care, and above all, of Richard. The Music Room is a luminous testament to the miracle of consciousness and to the permanence of love. ‘On putting the book down I felt as if I had been hypnotised. It held me entranced, afraid and awed. All human grief and glory shimmers off the page’ Libby Purves, The Times
