These Silent Mansions

An intimate exploration of our abiding fascination with cemeteries and graveyards, from critically acclaimed poet Jean Sprackland

‘A refreshingly original meditation… I wish I had written it myself’ Literary Review

Graveyards are oases- places of escape, peace and reflection. Liminal sites of commemoration, where the past is close enough to touch. Yet they also reflect their living community – how in our restless, accelerated modern world, we are losing our sense of connection to the dead.

Jean Sprackland – the prize-winning poet and author of Strands – travels back through her life, revisiting her once local graveyards. In seeking out the stories of those who lived and died there, remembered and forgotten, she unearths what has been lost.

Author Biography

Jean Sprackland’s first book of non-fiction, Strands- A Year of Discoveries on the Beach, won the 2012 Portico Prize. She is the author of five poetry collections, including Tilt, which won the 2007 Costa Poetry Award and, most recently, Green Noise (2018). She lives in London.