The History Behind The Quietness

A glimpse into the lives of Victorian women, from the desperate poverty to the medical advances in childbirth and the shocking practice of infant murder for profit.


This interactive book includes videos, primary source material, clickable maps, discussion questions and more to bring to life the Victorian London history that inspired Alison Rattle's fiction novel, THE QUIETNESS, a story of two young women caught on different sides of a pregnancy scandal.


This book is divided into four main themed sections to help you discover more about the period - Women, Children, Medicine and Crime & Punishment, brought to life with:


- 19 videos

- 6 clickable features, including maps and a Victorian medicine chest

- Victorian newspaper clippings detailing famous baby farming cases

- Discussion questions

- A quiz on Victorian slang

- An exclusive look at Alison's next project


We have gathered primary source documents, images and interviews with experts that are all designed to help you get a better sense of what life was like in Victorian society.


About THE QUIETNESS by Alison Rattle

When fifteen-year-old Queenie escapes from the squalid slums of nineteenth-century London, she has no idea about the dangers of the dark world she is about to become embroiled in. Initially thrilled at being taken on as a maid for the seemingly respectable Waters sisters, Queenie comes to realise that something is very wrong with the dozens of strangely silent babies being 'adopted' into the household.


Meanwhile, lonely and unloved sixteen-year-old Ellen is delighted when her handsome and charming young cousin Jacob is sent to live with her family. She thinks she has finally found a man to fall in love with and rely on, but when Jacob cruelly betrays her she finds herself once again at the mercy of her cold-hearted father. Soon the girls' lives become irrevocably entwined in this tension-filled drama. THE QUIETNESS is a novel of friendship and trust in the darkest of settings.