A vivid and sweeping look into a little known aspect of British-Indian history.
In a small Indian village in 1900, nineteen-year-old Jaya Devani yearns for a freedom beyond the confines of the life expected of her. When she begins a tumultuous love affair with her British colonial employer she finds herself on course for a new life as an ayah, a nanny, in London. Arriving on British shores as the suffragette movement is growing, Jaya begins to grapple with a choice: can she really find freedom in the arms of her lover, or will she have to seek out her own way to be truly free?
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
A vivid and sweeping look into a little known aspect of British-Indian history.
In a small Indian village in 1900, nineteen-year-old Jaya Devani yearns for a freedom beyond the confines of the life expected of her. When she begins a tumultuous love affair with her British colonial employer she finds herself on course for a new life as an ayah, a nanny, in London. Arriving on British shores as the suffragette movement is growing, Jaya begins to grapple with a choice: can she really find freedom in the arms of her lover, or will she have to seek out her own way to be truly free?
Description
In a small Indian village in 1900, nineteen-year-old Jaya Devani yearns for a freedom beyond the confines of the life expected of her. When she begins a tumultuous love affair with her British colonial employer she finds herself on course for a new life as an ayah, a nanny, in London. Arriving on British shores as the suffragette movement is growing, Jaya begins to grapple with a choice: can she really find freedom in the arms of her lover, or will she have to seek out her own way to be truly free?
'A page turner exploring how the central character, Jaya, navigates to find her own agency against a backdrop of sex, class and colour based discrimination'
– Helen Pankhurst CBE, women’s right’s activist and author of Deeds not Words
Critic Reviews
'An unforgettable journey from turn-of-the-century India to England…I was completely riveted, utterly spellbound, and sorry to see it end'
– USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean
'A journey of love and self-realization, Shahida Rahman's latest novel is utterly transportive, both tender and thrilling'
— A. J. Gnuse
'A rare jewel, beautifully contrasting the vivid world of turn-of-the-century India with the gray skies of pre-war England through the eyes of a fiercely independent young heroine. Shahida Rahman's starkly drawn prose will linger in the memory'
– Kate Quinn, bestselling author of The Rose Code
'An intriguing tale, extensively researched, an odyssey of Britain's complex relationship with India at the height of the Raj. This is a tale of love, broken promises, murder and revenge set against the backdrop of the fights for female suffrage and Indian independence'
– Dr Sean Lang, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
About the Author
Rahman writes historical fiction, non-fiction and short stories. Her first historical novel, Lascar, was inspired by stories passed down orally through the generations about one of her paternal ancestors who one of the early lascars (sailor/seaman from East India) to work aboard the British steamships of the 19th century. It was shortlisted for a Muslim Writers Award and longlisted for the Brit Writers Unpublished Award. Rahman has contributed to and been published in the Best of British, The Great War and SISTERS magazines, Asian World Newspaper, Children of the New Earth, The Huffington Post and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. She was a columnist at Weekly Desh newspaper.
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