India

[Divia]

The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye
Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald
Shadows of the Moon by MM Kaye
The Temple Dancer by John Speed
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson
Tiger Claws by John Speed
YA: Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth
YA: Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

[annis]

John Masters Indian trilogy
1. The Deceivers
2. Nightrunners of Bengal
3. The Lotus and the Wind

"The Siege of Krishnapur" by J.G.Farrell

Peggy Kingman
"Not Yet Drown'd"

and does anyone else remember a wildly OTT historical romantic saga by Katharine Gordon called the Peacock (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/katharine-gordon)series?

[annis]

Just thought of two more by Kunal Basu (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/kunal-basu)
"The Miniaturist" and "The Opium Clerk"

Such a shame to have lost all that wonderful information on the old HFF- hope some of it can be retrieved, but I'm very impressed by how quickly the moderators have got a new version up and running.

[Carla]

On the old thread I recommended Paul Scott's Raj Quartet (Jewel in the Crown, Day of the Scorpion, Towers of Silence, Division of the Spoils), Kim by Rudyard Kipling, and any of Rudyard Kipling's Indian short stories. Including the Jungle Book and the Just So stories.

There's also Beneath a Marble Sky, by John Shors, which is about the building of the Taj Mahal. I haven't read it yet, so don't know what it's like.

[Misfit]

I was very very disappointed in Beneath a Marble Sky and did not finish it. It's still on my charity pile if anyone is willing to swap.

My favs,

The Far Pavilions
Shadow of the Moon
Zemindar
Olivia and Jai
Veil of Illusion (sequen to O&J)
Shalimar

I do intend to read the Raj Quartet one day, along with Thalassa Ali's trilogy (starts with A Singular Hostage) and The Seige of Krishnapur.

[Julianne Douglas]

E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, although I'm not sure if this counts as HF, since the time period might be contemporary to the writing.

[annis]

It's an interesting point, isn't it? Strictly speaking Kipling was writing about contemporary events as well, and yet books actually written during a historical period give a perspective on how people thought and acted that authors writing at a distance of time and with a different sensibility would find it hard to capture.

[Volgadon]

[QUOTE=annis;691]John Masters Indian trilogy
1. The Deceivers
2. Nightrunners of Bengal
3. The Lotus and the Wind
QUOTE]

A series, actually. Coromandel is set in the 17th century, Far, Far the Mountain Peak from 1900 until the 20s, though much of it takes place outside of India. Bhowani Junction deals with the days leading up to Partition and Independence, from the POV of the Anglo-Indian community (Indians with European ancestry). To the Coral Strand is a direct sequel, about Rodney Savage trying to adjust to the new India.

Then there are several other books set in India, such as the Ravi Lancers, Indian troops being sent to the Western Front in WWI, and the Venus of Konpara, which I haven't read.

[annis]

I'd forgotten that the later ones were a continuation of the series. "Bhowani Junction" is an old favorite, and I enjoyed the movie as well.

The first volume of John Masters' autobiography is an excellent read. "Bugles and a Tiger" (http://www.amazon.com/Bugles-Tiger-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/0304361569), the account of his early life and career in the Indian Army pre-WWII.

[pat]

E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, although I'm not sure if this counts as HF, since the time period might be contemporary to the writing.

Just picked this up from the library. Looking forward to it!

[Leyland]

Another novel that may be considered recent HF is Rumer Godden's The Peacock Spring. The setting is New Delhi in 1959.

http://www.amazon.com/Peacock-Spring-Rumer-Godden/dp/0330323687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247869399&sr=1-1

[Leo62]

Gotta namecheck A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. A big fat brick of a book, but a total joy.

[annis]

I'm just reading and enjoying David Leavitt's novel "The Indian Clerk" (http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781596910409-0), a moving but ultimately tragic tale set in the early twentieth century, and based on a true story.

[drspoon]

"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry is about 4 people who become friends and victims of circumstance and life in 1970s India. It's wonderful and devastating and definitely not for the faint of heart.

[love_uk]

My favs,

The Far Pavilions
Shadow of the Moon
Zemindar
Olivia and Jai
Veil of Illusion (sequen to O&J)
Shalimar

Misfit,

Seeing this sent me back to re-read Olivia & Jai - which I have always loved. Suprised at how much darker it seemed this time around. Am now anxious to read The Veil of Illusion - I had no idea she'd written a sequel! Must find & read soon! Thanks!

Am also a big MM Kaye fan - at least where her Indian sagas are concerned.
Who is the author of Shalimar??

[Misfit]

Misfit,

Seeing this sent me back to re-read Olivia & Jai - which I have always loved. Suprised at how much darker it seemed this time around. Am now anxious to read The Veil of Illusion - I had no idea she'd written a sequel! Must find & read soon! Thanks!

Am also a big MM Kaye fan - at least where her Indian sagas are concerned.
Who is the author of Shalimar??

Rebecca Ryman also wrote Shalimar. Veil of Illusion is good but if you must have a picture perfect HEA you might want to leave well enough alone.

[Chatterbox]

The John Shors book is a waste of time, IMO.
Rumer Godden, although mostly recent (around Indian independence, just before & into the 60s), is excellent. Not always written contemporaneously. The Peacock Spring was my fave book when I was about 14; written in the 70s about events in the 1950s. There's also Black Narcissus, The Dark Horse (a story I loved), and several others. A very underrated author.
There does seem to be relatively little 'historical' fiction set in India. Wonder if there is more that never gets published outside the country?
A couple more entrants:
Julia Gregson, East of the Sun
Gita Mehta -- Raj (which is excellent, IMO)
Geoffrey Trease, Land of the Mogul (YA)
Barbara Cleverly -- some of her first books are set in colonial India, historical mysteries in the early 1920s (Damascened Blade, etc.)
Ellis Peters has some mysteries set there in the 60s, roughly (judging by the events they deal with). "Mourning Raga" and Death to the Landlords.
I know that some of the Indian fiction I've read is historical, but my brain is blanking on me.

[love_uk]

Rebecca Ryman also wrote Shalimar. Veil of Illusion is good but if you must have a picture perfect HEA you might want to leave well enough alone.

HEA???? Please translate! :confused:

[MLE]

HEA stands for 'Happily Ever After'.