Kinniburgh has the difficult task of unravelling Jean’s story, immersing himself in the legal machinery of the Edinburgh court, and retracing Jean’s life up till that moment on the bridge. I also loved that throughout the book we meet different people with different “theories” on deafness. Based on a real case, and featuring some real characters from history, "Hear No Evil" is a fictionalised account of the trial of Jean Campbell at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1817 - a time when women were under the guardianship of either their fathers or husbands. Thank goodness there were enlightened people like Robert Kinniburgh who were determined that people who were deaf should be fully included in society. I loved the way the signs were described by the author, really helping the reader to envision and feel part of the story.

He is tasked to help Jean Campbell (also a real person) when she is in jail on a charge of murdering her baby by throwing it off a local bridge. It made me think of the harshness of this time for women and then add the fact Jean was deaf and you have a fascinating story to tell. But as the novel shows, the appearance of respectability is not the same as its reality, and it is often the most vulnerable, like Jean Campbell, who are the victims of upper-class venality. It was a cold February and the thick stone walls of the building were damp with rain, yet Robert found that he was sweating under his woollen coat. His empathy towards Campbell, his determination to understand her, his uncovering of the truth behind her plight would drive the story and, in the processs, allow it to be told through his own explanation of sign language.Born in a time when it was near on impossible to communicate with the majority of society, Jean stands trial for the murder of her baby boy. It has everything you could possibly want from historical crime; murderers, madhouses, the crushing pressure of class barriers and a crime that spins across a true cross-section of Scottish social history. I did find the writing overblown at times, bringing in a sexual element that is pure fiction, but the tale is strong. Alan Johnson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival If today’s politicians make you miserable, Alan Johnson may be the antidote.

In fact, as we are told Rottenrow could also be derived from the Gaelic phrase Rat-an-righ (road of the kings) perhaps some people in the congregation would have more readily understood a sign indicating a crown instead. However, as much as I loved reading a story that features deafness and BSL, I’m holding out for more actual representation of deaf experiences and perspectives. In Hear No Evil, Sarah Smith conveys a thrilling story - based on real events - with great sensitivity and skill. Campbell’s deafness is central pillar of this book, it’s the reason for her poverty, the ordeals she has been subjected to and possibly the court case itself. Soon after her arrest, the Glasgow police discovered their prisoner was deaf, could not speak and thus could not tell her side of the story.A fascinating exploration of deafness and human value amid the sights, sounds and smells of urban Scotland in 1817. This production uses a fusion of sign language, image and performance to tell the story of Jean Campbell, a Deaf woman in Glasgow, who in 1817 was accused of murder when her young child fell from her shoulders and drowned in the Clyde.

Jean Campbell, a deaf woman, is accused of drowning her child, but communication with her has been impossible. The teacher sent to investigate moves from interpreter to investigator, as he determines to clear her name before it's too late. Jean has gone through traumatic experiences, badly used by unscrupulous people only too happy to take advantage. A striking and stylish literary page-turner that breathes life into the past, illuminating a fascinating corner of history by revealing its lost voices and contemporary resonance.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. I loved how the author described the cities through the use of smell and sight for the most part, even outwith Jean’s own narrative. He is our eyes and ears in the story, following Jean’s life in the poverty stricken slums of Glasgow, experiencing her difficulties and finding out what happened in the final days before she came to be alone on the Old Bridge with her baby. Although I do think I would have liked to have had more from Jean's perspective, being such a central character to the story (though I can see why it may have been intentional to reflect how difficult it would have been for her to share her perspective at all).