Zemindar

I've read this book before, and loved it. Great history, wonderful writing style, and good story. Great service from the seller, also.

I bought and read Zemindar at 11, and was enthralled. Now I'm reading it again at 33, and am equally captivated. The book is well-written to the degree that descriptive passages never pall, gruelling subject matter is fascinating without being unsympathetic, and factual information is transparently assimilated with no effort required by the reader. If only all historical (and other) texts were as absorbing, and all novels as easy to read and hard to put down - a compulsive read.

I cannot heap enough praise on Valerie Fitzgerald's superb historical novel "Zemindar." I have always had an interest in India, especially during the period of the British Raj. I picked up a copy of this book at a used bookstore by chance, little knowing that it was to become one of my favorite novels. It is a beautifully written, impeccably researched, totally addictive read.Set in India during the Raj, the author follows the lives of a newly married British couple on honeymoon to India, their young cousin, an Englishwoman who is companion to the bride, and the groom's half-brother, a European hereditary ruler - a zemindar - to his own fabulous kingdom, Hassanganj. This epic saga of love, war, tragedy and ultimate triumph is drawn from the author's personal experience. Ms. Fitzgerald's grandmother lived through the Indian Sepoy Mutiny, which is vividly recreated here. And the author, herself, spent her adolescence in Lucknow where her father was stationed during WWII. Her summers were spent on a zemindari estate similar to Oliver Erskine's extraordinary holdings. This personal perspective adds tremendously to the book's historical accuracy and provides the reader with an unusual, caring and honest perspective of the country, the native population and their British rulers.I would be remiss if I did not mention that Ms. Fitzgerald not only provides a detailed and colorful portrait of India but she has created an exceptional cast of characters, both Indian and British, realistic and strong enough to inhabit the times in which they lived. Notable among them are Oliver Erskine - a combination of Edward Rochester (from Jane Eyre) and Rhett Butler (improbable but most effective and believable) - and Laura Hewitt. The novel is worth the read just to become acquainted with these two.Along with "The Siege of Krishnapur," "Zemindar" is one of the best period works of historical fiction. It won the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize in 1981, selected from scores of manuscripts that included M. M. Kaye's "The Far Pavillions." Not to be missed!JANA