The Rest is Silence by Barbara Whitfield

Debut Novel The Rest Is Silence Published: A Haunting Literary Mystery  

We are proud and humbled to announce the publication of The Rest Is Silence, a debut novel by Barbara Whitfield. Already, it’s been shortlisted for the Jenny Brown Debut Novelist Award and received a second read for the Bridport Prize, due to its distinctive literary voice and unusual structure. 

The Rest Is Silence centres on the disappearance of Muriel Mead, a schoolgirl who vanishes in September 1939. What happened to Muriel, and why, is revealed after reading two accounts bound as one. Through this dual narrative structure, the novel explores how truth is constructed, obscured, and finally, found. It asks us to reflect on the price of living a life not truly of our choosing and the sacrifices we must make if we are to live with integrity.

At its heart, The Rest Is Silence is a meditation on belonging: what it means to be born into the “wrong” family, to be severed from family through no fault of one’s own, or to seek connection elsewhere. The novel pays particular attention to intergenerational friendships and their quiet, transformative power.  

Barbara Whitfield lives on a farm in West Wales, where she enjoys a quiet, slow life, deeply connected to the natural world around her. This sense of attentiveness—to land, to people, to what is left unsaid—infuses the novel’s prose and themes. 

The Rest Is Silence invites readers to reflect on their own choices, relationships and identity.