Looking for the title/author of a book set in India.

Norm017 · Post by **Norm017** » Thu November 1st, 2012, 3:37 pm

I'm looking for the title/author of a novel set in India (I think before the 1857 Mutiny). It's been a long time since I read the book so it could date back to the 1990s.

This is what I can remember of the plot.

The Heroine is married to an abusive husband I will henceforth refer to as the Brute.

She becomes attracted to a visiting Indian Prince and it becomes mutual. A plot is hatched to allow her and her daughter to flee with the Prince at the end of his visit.

The plan goes wrong and only the heroine is able to escape. The daughters experiences at the hand of the Brute form the novels 'B Plot'.

The heroine becomes one of the princes wives, but has a special duty. Every time the British come visiting she is behind a screen advising the prince on just how to get the best outcome.

Eventually there is a gap in these visits (Possibly the result of the 1857 Mutiny), when the British return the prince askes the heroine to again advise him. She refuses essentially stating that she has become so assimilated into the local court/culture that she has fundamentally changed and no longer considers herself English. The prince replies to the effect that at any other time this news would please him, but now...

I'm not entirely sure what happens after this point, but from what I can remember of the climax the prince dies and the British send a group to confirm his successor.

One of the party is the Brute, he immediately realises that his (ex-)wife is one of the sari clad women near the new prince. This triggers events that leave the Brute dead and the Heroine being 'punished' for her role in it by being required to act as ambassador to new British resident who just happens to be married to the daughter the heroine was forced to leave behind.

I'd dearly like to find a copy just to confirm if my recollections are in any way correct.

DianeL · Post by **DianeL** » Thu November 1st, 2012, 11:20 pm

I'm afraid I can't help with the book, but had to have a giggle at myself for being a relic to whom the idea of something dating "back to the 1990s" is hilarious/depressing!

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu November 1st, 2012, 11:32 pm

[quote=""DianeL""]I'm afraid I can't help with the book, but had to have a giggle at myself for being a relic to whom the idea of something dating "back to the 1990s" is hilarious/depressing!

[/quote]

Hah! Same here, but I predate even further than that. Not a clue, but we'll see if anyone else has ideas. Welcome to the forum.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Fri November 2nd, 2012, 5:23 am

Doesn't ring a bell, but you could try scanning the India page at www.HistoricalNovels.info, in case the title and/or author ring bells for you.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Fri November 2nd, 2012, 9:48 am

Sometimes I forget that the early 90s is nearly 20 years ago!

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Fri November 2nd, 2012, 10:29 am

[quote=""Madeleine""]Sometimes I forget that the early 90s is nearly 20 years ago![/quote]

I know! I'm trying to collect a series of an edition of paperbacks published in 1993 and I'm having difficulty finding good-condition copies of them all. It finally dawned on me that it's almost 20 years ago, which would explain it.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri November 2nd, 2012, 11:41 am

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]I know! I'm trying to collect a series of an edition of paperbacks published in 1993 and I'm having difficulty finding good-condition copies of them all. It finally dawned on me that it's almost 20 years ago, which would explain it.[/quote]

I'm seeing more and more of romances from this era coming back to life on Kindle as rights are being reverted back to the authors and apparently some of them are still around. It get tricky, because sometimes they're using different author names and/or titles.

@ Norm017. Another good place to ask is at this group at Goodreads, they're pretty dedicated to the older romances. There's also the romance boards at Amazon.

annis · Post by **annis** » Fri November 2nd, 2012, 6:18 pm

This sounds like something from Katherine Gordon's Peacock series, but I don't think it is one of those. There were quite a few novels around those lines at that time. I'm still trying to remember the title of the one which featured a sexually voracious Rani who seduced both the hero and heroine of the story and also had a penchant for torturing her unfortunate handmaidens with red hot pepper powder. Some of it took place in Afghanistan, I recall. Actually maybe I should check out a bibliography of books written by Christopher Nicole aka Alan Savage aka etc- sounds just his style

Norm017 · Post by **Norm017** » Sat November 3rd, 2012, 7:00 am

[quote=""Margaret""]Doesn't ring a bell, but you could try scanning the India page at www.HistoricalNovels.info, in case the title and/or author ring bells for you.[/quote]

Thanks, I had a quick look at the suggested site there are two that come close to what I remember, but the years are wrong.

[quote=""annis""] Actually maybe I should check out a bibliography of books written by Christopher Nicole aka Alan Savage aka etc- sounds just his style

[/quote]

Christopher Nicole's books can still be found in the local library system, so I'll try a hunt through those.

Later:Looked at the library system's online catalog. Only the authors books from the 2000's have plot summaries. I'm now wondering if the book may predate the 1990's.

Norm017 · Post by **Norm017** » Thu December 27th, 2012, 12:07 pm

Still looking for that book title, tried the Bodice Ripper group suggested and got no response.