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'A closely interwoven story of love and war whose descriptive prose is so evocative that you can actually see and - much more - smell India as the country assaults you from the page' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH M. M. Kaye, author of The Far Pavilions, sweeps her readers back to the vast, glittering, sunbaked continent of India. Shadow of the Moonis the story of Winter de Ballesteros, a beautiful English heiress who has come to India to be married. It is also the tale of Captain Alex Randall, her escort and protector, who knows that Winter's husband to be has become a debauched wreck of a man. When India bursts into flaming hatreds and bitter bloodshed during the dark days of the Mutiny, Alex and Winter are thrown unwillingly together in the brutal and urgent struggle for survival. 'Another splendid tale of India' WALL STREET JOURNAL… (more)
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This is a lengthy story as the author sets the scene with many descriptions of the colonial policies of the East India Trade Company which had virtual control over the Indian sub-continent. Indian laws and practices were changed to British ways and this caused smouldering resentment that eventually flared into open revolt. The romantic angle of the book is the attraction between Winter de Ballesteros, the granddaughter of the Earl of Ware, and, Captain Alex Randall, who escorted her from England to India in order for her to marry her intended, the drunken, dissipated Conway Barton. This engagement took place when Barton visited England and schemed to tie the heiress to him. At the time Winter was only eleven. The scenery of India serves as a constant backdrop as the characters travel toward their destiny. When the rebellion ignites Winter and Alex are caught up in the turmoil and violence.
I believe that I admire this book even more today than I did back in the 1970’s. The author was born in India and knew that country well, but the painstaking research she did shows in the details of fashion, customs and politics of the Victorian era and the British Raj. The timeline of the mutiny is followed to the letter and she accurately guides the reader through the turbulence and violence. The romance was intense and satisfying and the adventure was engrossing. I was totally able to escape into this book and it was an excellent read.
Lots of trials and tribulations as our hero and heroine travel back to India, the meeting and marriage to Conway and the Sepoy rebellion, and vividly portrayed by an author who has a great knowledge and love of the country and it's history. This is not only a story of two lovers, but one of stubborn, bigoted officials hiding their heads in the sand, treachery, intrigue and the brutal way in which the rebellion played out against the British, even shocking some of their own people. As with The Far Pavilions, it is shocking to see after 150 years not much of life and politics has changed in the Far East, nor should the Europeans (or Americans now for that matter) be interfering in their life, culture and religion.
Highly recommended for any lover of historical fiction, India, or just a darn good book. This would make an awesome mini series, the sequences from the attack on the British and Alex and Winter's escape are just breathtaking. As a side note for those loooking for well written books for younger readers, this should be a good choice. Originally written in the 50's, the love scenes are quite chaste. Just be prepared for some gory, though accurate, portrayal of the violence aginst the British (including women and children) during the rebellion.
If you enjoy this book, I would also recommend Zemindar. The same topic, the Sepoy rebellion, and beautifully written. The author's prose was gorgeous, very reminiscent of Charlotte Bronte.
Re-reading it twenty years later I can't figure why I loved it so much. I still really like it too...
In The Far
Kaye takes her time. This is a 700-page commitment and there is no rush as she introduces the characters, tells their backstories, and effortlessly paints the historical period. But once you're in the grip of the story, there is no escape. Beautifully written, with never a word out of place or even the hint of an anachronism, the tale sweeps you along. A small dash of the supernatural—a recurring theme in Kaye's stories—spices the action nicely. My only criticism, and the reason half a star is knocked off, is a very improbable sex scene (it's tasteful and not explicit, but the circumstances surrounding it are a bit hard to believe, in my opinion).
The novel is filled with fascinating people. Yes, Winter is strikingly beautiful and Alex is very handsome. We can forgive them that convention because they are otherwise truly believable, human characters whom we come to love. Other characters are equally well drawn: Conway, Niaz, Lottie, Carlyon, Lou Cottar, and so many others.
Kaye, who clearly loves India, doesn't shrink from describing the unthinkable atrocities committed during this rebellion, especially against women and children (things I will never forget, I saw them so clearly in my mind's eye). But alongside the horrors perpetrated by the rebels, there are a handful of faithful Indian sepoys, retainers, and ayahs who die trying to protect their feringhi employers. All they had to do to survive was join their people against the whites or even just disappear from the scene, but many didn't. These nameless heroes are remembered here and it gives me something to balance against the awful evils that took place.
What else can I say? Shadow of the Moon is the kind of book you stay up till the wee hours to finish. And then you can't start your next book because you're not done thinking about this one yet. Stunning and splendid!
To be sure, this is a romance-type of novel, but it’s subtle. Winter isn’t your typical English rose, and her liveliness is captivating. Alex is harder to get to know, because he’s often inscrutable. Nevertheless, he’s a long-range planner, able to understand exactly what needs to be done. Because of the time he’s spent in India, he understands the way that the natives think; but he’s not necessarily sympathetic towards them. Like the rest of his compatriots, he believes in the rule of the British Raj—but he differs in several respects. Alex is less blind to the turmoil going on around him than the government officials he serves.
I found Alex to be a little less believable; for example, I found it hard to believe that he was able to predict the exact time of year that the Sepoy rebellion was going to happen, as well as the exact mechanism that would set it off—regardless of how well he understands India and its people. Conway Barton also descends into caricature at times; for example, when the rebels storm the Residency at Lunjore (though I did find it believable that they would think him mad).
Nonetheless, I loved the period and place detail—MM Kaye had a lot of love for India, and it shows up time and again in this novel. She also doesn’t skimp on details of the rebellion and the horrible brutalities incurred against the British—not for the fait of heart. It’s tragic because along the way the reader is introduced to characters whose death is inevitable. It makes you want Alex and Winter’s fate to come out all right in the end.
Historical fiction doesn't venture far east often, but Shadow of the Moon is set in India during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Winter de Ballesteros is the daughter of privilege though she never realized it growing up. Born in India, which she idealized, she was sent to England to be raised and only wants to return to the land of her dreams. Her ticket is marriage to Conway Barton, a betrothal arranged when she was very young. Alex Randall, Conway's attache, is sent to retrieve her since the ensuing years have not been kind to Conway, who is only interested in Winter's fortune.
Ms. Kaye is British but was born in India and heard stories of the rebellion from her family's servants. She, in my opinion, treats the subject with care and is fairly even-handed with the causes though atrocities were on both sides. The various religions and sects in India were hard for anyone to deal with, but the British too often viewed them through Western eyes and imposed restrictions without understanding the implications for the people they ruled.
Her writing is lyrical with the descriptions of India, the scents and colors of flora and fauna. The romance is not typical; both Winter and Alex struggle against it before finding love. Many historical figures are referenced: Sir Henry Lawrence, his brother John, General John Nicholson, William Hodson, and others of the East India company and army, as well as Bahadur Shah and Nana Sahib.
It's a wonderful story, full of action and drama, sadness and joy, and one to be read again and again.
"In the late 1500s, European explorers started sailing east for trading purposes. The Spanish and the Portugese were originally dominant on these new sailing routes, but after the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588 the British and Dutch were able to take more of an active
"Concerned that the English were falling behind to the Dutch on these new trading routes, on the 31st December 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted over 200 English merchants the right to trade in the East Indies. One of these groups of merchants called themselves Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies, later to become simply The East India Company.
"As the name suggests, the Company’s humble origins was as a small group of investors and businessmen looking to capitalise on these new trading opportunities. Their first expedition left for Asia in 1601 with four ships commanded by James Lancaster (pictured to the right). The expedition returned two years later with a cargo of pepper weighing almost 500 tons! James Lancaster was duly knighted for his service.
"Although these initial voyages turned out to be extremely profitable for the shareholders, increased competition in the mid-1600s made trading much more difficult. Wars, pirates and lower profit margins forced the Company to grow into new markets where competition was less fierce. It was during this time that the Company also decided that it could not compete with the more powerful Dutch East India Company in the trading of spices, so instead turned its attention to cotton and silk from India.
"Although the forces of the East India Company were at first only concerned with protecting the direct interests of the Company, this was to change with the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Faced with a local uprising led by Siraj ud-Daula (with some French assistance!), the Company’s army led by Robert Clive quickly defeated the insurgents. However, this was to be a turning point for the Company and the following years saw it take full administrative powers over its territories, including the right to tax anyone living within its boundaries."
Thus began the resentment of the English by the Indian people. More and more, problems began to arise. This book is yet another novel based on this history of India, with England tramping on the rights of the Indian people, taking their land, deposing rulers and installing English rulers, scorning their culture and religions and insisting they convert to Christianity.
Winter Ballesteros is an orphan who was born in India of Spanish and English blood. She is betrothed, as a child, to a relative of hers, Conway Barton, who is a commissioner of the cantonment at Lunjore. When she is 17, From England, where she grew up, she is shipped out to India, under the protection of Alex Randall, Commissioner Barton's aide. But her fiance isn't who she thinks he is, and she comes to find this out too late.
Really, these characters of English women and men just make you want to shake them, they're so idiotic. But I suppose they may be based on true females and males of the period (19th century). This is nearly 800 pages (too long). The best part of the book is the descriptions of the land and its flora and fauna.