Shadow of the Moon

This is a superlative work of beautifully written, well-researched historical fiction by the author of the best selling, sweeping epic, "The Far Pavilions". The author was born in India, where she lived most of her life. Her love of that country is evident in her loving, descriptive passages of the land of her birth. Her assessment of Anglo-Indian relations during the time of the British Raj is infused in the characters of her spellbinding novel. With exotic, mid-eighteenth century India as a backdrop for most of this engrossing story, the reader is swept away by its beautifully descriptive narrative. It is in India that the fate of a beautiful, young, Anglo-Spaniard heiress with the improbable name of Winter Ballasteros and that of Captain Alex Randall, a commissioned officer with the East India Company, are irrevocably intertwined.Born in India and orphaned at an early age, Winter is brought up in England but is always longing for the land of her birth. The opportunity to return home to India presents itself when she is betrothed at a tender age to the debauched Conway Barton, the grasping Commissioner of Lunjore, who is many years her senior. Captain Randall, who is sent by the Commissioner to escort his betrothed to India, is loathe to do so, knowing the Commissioner to be no fit husband for a seventeen year old girl, Moreover, Captain Randall is keenly sensitive to the potentially dangerous feelings of unrest that seem to be sweeping India, as its native population begins to chafe under the insensitive rule of its colonial masters.Once in India and against a backdrop of native unrest, Winter and Captain Randall slowly begin to develop a relationship. When the Sepoy Rebellion of 1957 occurs, Winter and Captain Randall are thrown together. They discover that they must struggle to survive the madness and bloodlust that is all around them, as they witness atrocities beyond comprehension. The author gives a vivid re-creation of the Siege of Delhi, as well as a plaintive telling of the massacre of women and children at Cawnpore, a horrific bloodbath from which even the natives themselves shrank. It is against this tumultuous, historical backdrop that the personal drama of Winter and Captain Randall is juxtaposed. With a wonderful cast of Indian and Anglo characters, the author gives the reader a sense of the vastness of India with its many different religions and castes. She successfully depicts the colonialist attitudes that would serve to unite Indians whose paths might not ordinarily cross and galvanize them to take violent action in an attempt to break the oppressive, colonial yoke. The Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 would be a lesson that England would long remember. This is a riveting novel that those who love well-written historical fiction will enjoy, as will those who simply love a well told tale. Bravo!

If you liked M.M. Kaye's "Far Pavilions" of TV miniseries fame, you may find this earlier work by the author even more enjoyable. A romance novel to be sure, but non-fans of the genre (I am usually amongst their number) will find it a very pleasant surprise, especially if you can get a copy of the early editions, which were considerably shorter than those that came out after the success of the "Far Pavilions". Ms. Kaye's outstanding attention to Indian historical and cultural detail surrounding the Great Sepoy Mutiny supplements the central love story wonderfully. Actually, the reader soon becomes aware that "Shadow of the Moon" is a tale of two love stories - one between Alex and Winter and one between Ms. Kaye and the people, culture and land of India. If you like a good love story, lots of action, many interesting secondary characters, and a generous dose of education about a fascinating and pivotal time in Indian and British history, this book is a must read.

I put off reading this book due to the bulk of it, but once your'e into it - you're hooked. The story is beautiful, of the charming Winter de Ballesteros and the dashing Alex Randall, and M. M. Kaye weaves you into the plot by making you feel as if you are in the midst of the war, running for your life, screaming, hiding. It has been written absolutely beautifully. Although I must admit that there is a bit too much history, I cannot get down to returning this book to my friend - its mine for keeps! Its a must own, and enchanting, capturing book, a haunting story, which "will haunt you forever, as long as the heart remembers"

MM Kaye is an engrossing story teller with an eye for easy and vivid descriptions. She wrote two epic tales of India, The Far Pavillions and this one, Shadow of the Moon. Both are stories of characters torn between countries and cultures - searching for identity, but Shadow of the Moon is by far the more traditionally romantic of two. This is the story of Winter de Ballesteros, the only child of a marriage between an British Earl's grand-daughter, and dashing Spanish hidalgo. The first few chapters introduce us to her family history, from Ware, in the bitter cold of Northern Britain, through the tragedy of Waterloo to India where Winter's parents meet, marry and eventually face tragedy. After their death, isolated without relatives in India, Winter is brought up by her father's sister who has married a Hindu. When she is finally sent back to Britain to the care of her great-grandfather it is to disastorous results. Winter doesn't speak English well, is quiet, and 'sallow', her relatives hate her and her great-grandfather is too old to protect her. In this lonely state she is given the chance to marry a man she has only met once in her youth, and with it the chance to return to India where he works - that one meeting has left her with highly romantic memories of him and probably because she desparately misses India, she accepts. Unfortunately when she returns it is to a troubled country, for India in the mid 1850's is in ferment - boiling on the edge of the forthcoming mutiny - and her husband is a prize prig. In this all is Alex, her husband's aide and source of great conflict for her emotions - and for his - for events in the country rapidly move out of control Alex finds himself in conflict - does he protect Winter?- or does he leave her and think of the greater good he can do for the country as a whole?Kaye's story has less of the personal conflict over identity which was evident in The Far Pavillions but I still found the story of Winter and Alex gripping, and it is told against the background of India in turmoil. And she is so good as a story teller, you can literally smell the country, the bazaars, and the heat.