Cirrus@Austlit

'This collection of Ethel Anderson's Indian stories calls back to life a world that has passed away. Against the richly coloured background of Indian life, ranging in time from the sixteenth century to the last days of British rule, rajahs and camel-drivers, white nabobs and exquisite princesses, gipsies [sic], and English gentlewomen play out their comedies and tragedies. There are scenes so strange and bizarre that they would be incredible of their vividness did not carry its own conviction, and others that live in the memory by their intense and haunting beauty; there are tales of cruelty and passion and of charming light-heartedness. The brilliance of Ethel Anderson's style, with its distinctive blending of wit and poetry, makes her the perfect chronicler of this fascinating world.' (Source: 1959 Angus and Robertson edition)