The River
A Virago Modern Classic
Author: Rumer Godden and Anita Desai Series: Virago Modern Classics
Hailed 'a small masterpiece' by Spectator, an unforgettable evocation of India and of childhood, of innocence and experience by the New York Times bestselling author, Rumer Godden.
10th November 2025
Paperback
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
Hailed 'a small masterpiece' by Spectator, an unforgettable evocation of India and of childhood, of innocence and experience by the New York Times bestselling author, Rumer Godden.
Description
By the bestselling author of Black Narcissus and The Greengage Summer
'The River will make you laugh, make you cry and, in its way, change you forever' JULIE MYERSON 'Her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' NEW YORK TIMES 'Bold, beautiful . . . everyone's appetites will be satisfied' ELLEThe River is Rumer Godden's beautiful tribute to India and childhood, made into a film by Jean Renoir. And in a preface for this novel she explains how the classic tale came to be written.Harriet is caught between two worlds: her older sister is no longer a playmate, her brother is still a little boy. And the comforting rhythm of her Indian childhood - the sounds of the jute factory, the colourful festivals that accompany each season and the eternal ebb and flow of the river on its journey to the Bay of Bengal - is about to be shattered by a tragic event.Intense, vivid, and with a dark undertow, The River is a poignant portrait of the loss of a young girl's innocence.Critic Reviews
[Godden's] distinctive, poised and unsentimental books have never lost a shred of their almost hypnotic appeal -- Rosie Thomas Guardian
Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty New York Times
The River will make you laugh, make you cry and, in its way, change you forever -- Julie Myerson
Bold, beautiful . . . everyone's appetites will be satisfied Elle
A small masterpiece, a near perfect account of how childhood has to come to an end and the serpent must enter the garden . . . In The River she celebrates a passion for the people, colours, sounds and even the smells of India . . . She evokes, in simple, flawless prose, a young girl's first encounters with jealousy, sex, guilt and death -- Anne Chisholm Spectator
The grace, the fragility, associated with Rumer Godden, again most evident in this new book Kirkus Reviews
So intense, so quietly demanding of attention, that at the time there will be nothing in your thoughts but a small girl in India, and the people and places that were her world Saturday Review
Compassionate wisdom and serene understanding . . . with each book she writes Miss Godden's position as one of the finest of English novelists becomes more secure -- Orville Prescott
One of our best and most captivating novelists -- Philip Hensher
[Godden's] distinctive, poised and unsentimental books have never lost a shred of their almost hypnotic appeal -- Rosie Thomas Guardian
About the Author
Rumer Godden (1907-1998) was the acclaimed author of over sixty works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. Born in England, she and her siblings grew up in Narayanganj, India, and she later spent many years living in Kolkata and Kashmir. Several of her novels were made into films, including Black Narcissus, The Greengage Summer and The River, which was filmed by Jean Renoir. She was appointed OBE in 1993.
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10th November 2025
