I haven't written a book review for a while so I picked up one of my old favourites and re-read it so that I could tell you exactly why you should read it.
Really you can't go wrong with any of M.M. Kaye's historical romances; The Far Pavilions, Trade Winds or Shadow of the Moon. The reason I chose Shadow of the Moon for my review is that The Far Pavilions is very well know and there are hundreds of reviews on it and whilst I love Trade Winds it is quite controversial with a rape scene that some people feel quite unsettled by. Shadow of the Moon therefore is the best choice for a relatively unknown crowd-pleaser!
It charts the struggles of Winter de Ballestaros. Her troubles start even before her birth with conflicts between her mother, who chose a Spanish husband and a home in India, and her family, English aristocracy, and go on to leave her an orphan at a young age. Shipped off to England where most of the household consider her a nuisance or worse Winter slowly flourishes into a beauty with poise and grace. She also has a strong moral compass and compassion for others. Helping her survive through these difficult years are only two things; the love of her great-grandfather and the memory of the handsome young Conway Barton to whom she has been engaged since her childhood. On the death of her great-grandfather then it seems the only thing to do is go to her dashing fiancé, a commissioner in India, the place of her birth and the place she never stops thinking of as home.
Of course every book needs an appropriate hero. Unfortunately it is never going to be Conway, over the years he has grown obese, drunken and overfond of the company of women. Step in Alex Randall, he's Conway's assistant and runs the state of Lunjore hiding all Conway's deficiencies, he's handsome, smart, polite, perceptive and just an all round perfect hero. But Winter is fooled by Conway's claim that he is suffering from a Swelling disease and marries him despite his grotesque appearance.
Too late Winter realises her mistake and at the same time has a growing realisation of her feelings for the utterly wonderful Captain Randall. But suddenly her unhappy marriage is the least of her problems as the Indian sepoys mutiny and Winter, along with the rest of the white population find themselves running for their lives. Can love flourish, and more importantly survive in these testing times when just day to day living seems to take all available effort?
This is a truly epic book, magnificent in every way. M.M. Kaye's use of real historical events and figures works so well as she tells them with accuracy and imagery that bring each of the scenes to life, even the most horrific. The storytelling is so superb it is hard to separate the fact from the fiction as you get swept up in the happiness and the horror.
For a truly fantastic and bitter-sweet secondary character keep your eye on Sophie Abuthnot.