As holiday reading lying by the pool and on the beach this week in Corfu, Shadow of the Moon by M M Kaye could not be beaten. Having previously read The Far Pavilions (see my blog on The guilty pleasure of reading a trashy book) this had high standards to live up to, but it absolutely did not disappoint.
It is the tale of Winter de Ballesteros, a rich heiress born in India but whose formative years are spent at Ware in England, and Alex Randall, who is sent to bring her back to India to be married to his boss. Winter’s guardian in seeking to see her safely dispatched into marriage makes the mistake of agreeing to a match when she is still a child to a man who is only after her for her money. By the time her guardian is dying and it’s time for her to sail to her husband-to-be he has become an obese drunkard and Alex Randall, who has the misfortune of working for him, is sent to take her to her fate.
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From the journey to India and depictions of life on board to intricately described life in Indian colonial society, this book is utterly believable and it’s clear that M M Kaye knew this world first hand. By the time of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 you find yourself indoctrinated into being on the side of the British and the rule of the East India company, or at least on the side of those who saw the mutiny coming and fought in vain against their superior officers who had made no attempt to see things from the perspective of the Indian people.
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The terror and brutality of the slaughter of women and children is vividly captured, as is the sense of what it must have been like for those holding out at the Residency of Lucknow or in hiding with local families or fighting for survival in the jungle – the slow ticking of time as just over a year went by before British order was restored.
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I really recommend this book. It is a fascinating story, beautifully told, is filled with history coming to life and leaves you feeling enriched for having read it.