A vital and inspiring heroine, Anjolie vows not to let Clive maintain control over her home—not the house in which she was raised, nor India itself. Bose twines the story of both her years in France, where she’s warned by the former Governor-General of French possessions in India that Clive will “rape and pillage” all he can, with that of Clive himself, a detestable cuckold eager to force local farmers to abandon food crops for profitable opium. “She had never seen anyone so white and whalelike,” Bose writes, of a 15-year-old virgin forced to bed Clive.
Anjolie will have her revenge, an act that will shake both her century and ours. Bose includes chapters set in the Trump era, as an American of Indian descent visits an ancestral home in France, contemplates complex legacies of colonialism and racism, and discovers the story of Anjolie. This is rich material with moral weight, though it diminishes narrative momentum in a book that’s notably long. The prose at times is wordy, and some 18th century dialogue feels quite contemporary, but historical and cultural detail is convincing and the scenecraft is often strong.
Takeaway: Epic historical novel of revenge, love, and Britain’s seizing of India.
Comparable Titles: Sangeeta Bhargava’s The World Beyond, Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A