Hear No Evil: Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2023

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Scottish Spoken Word Showcase Spoken word is an increasingly visible and important part of Scotland’s cultural life. She is take to Edinburgh and help is sought in the form of Robert Kinniburgh, a teach from the Deaf Institute.

There is a curious scene where MacDougall watches an old man get beaten and robbed while touching himself sexually. Richard is the main character to this story in that, at least to me, his presence was stronger, not Jean, which, for a book about how deaf people can be devalued and silenced, again was a little disappointing. Imagine being unable to hear what is being said around you as men stand in court and decide your fate. This is definitely one of those special books that I will keep on my shelves to go back to and reread. Smith uses Jean Campbell’s case to explore the lives of deaf people in Regency-era Scotland, and as such the plot is often secondary to the historical context.The story itself is based on the true story of Jean Campbell who was accused of murdering her own child, the original story involved a child of five (I believe) where in the novel the child is an infant. The writing talent coming out of Scotland at the moment is immense and Smith is right up there with the best. Speaking of realism, I used my iPad’s dictionary function so much while reading Hear No Evil - Scottish dialect of the 19th century was odd. The case is built up upon the developing trust between Jean and Robert in the decaying Tolbooth Jail although the gaol

It is based on a true story, albeit embellished a lot by the author, and shines a light on Glasgow during the industrial revolution and also the treatment of deaf people at that time. A young, deaf woman is witnessed throwing a child into the River Clyde from the Old Bridge in 1817 Glasgow. Robert uses signs more closely aligned with BSL, Jean has no formal education and would be using more dialect (and/or home signs). What if this happens not in our time, or even in Helen Keller’s time, but 200 years ago - before sign language was standardised (sort of), and when deaf persons were often assumed to be unintelligent? Although it is fiction, the way the story is presented is almost like reading a factual account particularly the sections which take place in the court.

But in many ways this is no bad thing: Smith’s exploration of deaf experience makes for a unique piece of historical fiction.