Description
Book SynopsisBy the author of Black Narcissus and The River
'Rumer Godden's novels have a timeless shimmer' GUARDIAN
'Touching, amusing, enchanting . . . an exceptional work' OBSERVER
'Her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' NEW YORK TIMES
In a crumbling Calcutta mansion, with faded frescos and a jasmine-covered garden, the Lemarchant family live, clinging to the fringes of respectability: neither Indian nor English, they are accepted by no one and exploited by all.
After only a day in India, Stephen Bright meets Rosa Lemarchant. In an ill-fitting dress once belonging to her sister, she is awkward, shy and couldn't be more different from the stories he has heard of fast 'Eurasian' girls. Ignorant of Calcutta's strict codes of conformity, he falls in love with Rosa and becomes enchanted by the building in which she lives, determined to uncover its secrets.
Mystery pervades this story of a memory-haunted house in old Calcutta, as secret as a sundial in a ruined garden.
Trade ReviewRumer Godden's novels have a
timeless shimmer. But powerful adult themes underlie their surface -- Rosie Thomas * Guardian *
Touching, amusing, enchanting . . . an
exceptional work * Observer *
Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty * New York Times *
One of our
best and most captivating novelists -- Philip Hensher
This tale of a haunted house in a decayed quarter of Calcutta
cannot fail to delight . . . graceful and perceptive * Scotsman *
