The Silence of Dean Maitland: Page, Stage, Screen
In 1886, Maxwell Gray (pseudonym for Mary Gleed Tuttiett) published The Silence of Dean Maitland. The plot of the scandalous novel concerns a young British clergyman, Cyril Maitland, who, after killing the father of a village woman he has seduced, allows a friend, Henry Everard, to be implicated in the crime. Following a trial, Henry is transported to Australia, where he serves out a twenty year prison sentence, while Cyril ascends the church hierarchy. The Silence of Dean Maitland was a bestseller. It was subsequently adapted for the stage and the screen: the play was a hit; the silent film of 1914 enjoyed considerable success in the U.K. and Australia; and the film of 1934 was something of a blockbuster. Surprisingly, a critical edition of The Silence of Dean Maitland has never been published nor has a collection of essays on the novel as well as the theatrical productions and films that it inspired.
The Silence of Dean Maitland: Page, Stage, Screen will remedy this omission. Proposals are invited for short provocative essays (2,500-5,000 words) that will accompany a fully annotated text of the novel. The essays should seek to stimulate conversation between students in the classroom and among scholars of literature, religion, film, and drama about the original text and its subsequent adaptations. A publisher has expressed keen interest in the project. Proposals are due Sept 1, 2016. Essays will be due roughly a year later (final deadline has yet to be set). If you are interested, please send a 150-200 word proposal and CV to Kevin Morrison at kmorri05@syr.edu.