I had read about this book on many of the book blogs I follow and was eager to put it on my TBR list. I hadn’t read Abir Mukherjee’s first book in the series, A Rising Man, but found it wasn’t necessary (I will, however, put it on my list), his main characters, our protagonist, Captain Sam Wyndham and his Sergeant ’Surrender-Not’ Banerjee of the Calcutta Police Force are clearly drawn in this installment
From the flyleaf ”India, 1920, Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee….investigate the assassination of a Maharajah’s son…..As they desperately try to unravel the mystery behind the assassination, they become entangled in a dangerous world where those in power live by their own rules….” Why wouldn’t you want to read this book!! It certainly got me.
The murder of the heir takes place in Calcutta in front of Wyndham and Banerjee at the beginning of our story. We then follow them to the wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore (Sambalpur), the wealth is diamonds and coal. See the map of India below for the ”real” location of our story.
Here we learn of the Maharajah’s three wives, the middle wife, the mother of the two adult sons has died, the first a contemporary of the aging Maharajah and the third a young beauty with a young prince. The intrigue of Palace politics is explained when we meet members of the inner circle both Indian and English as well as the ”harem” guarded by eunuchs. We are taken into the world of opium, Indian religious traditions, and ceremonies. We go on glamorous trains (better than the Orient Express), attend formal dinner parties (everyone, of course, dresses for dinner, but then they dress for every occasion! Why can’t we still do that?!) we even learn how to hunt on top of elephants. The Raj is still in effect but times are changing and the power (read money) is the main focus of the time and the novel. Times are changing…wealth and influence are changing as well, while human nature and traditions remain the same.
An image of a Maharajah with rows and rows of diamonds and other precious stones. Iris….eat your heart out! Photo from Pinterest credit unknown.
Our story takes many twists and turns. We have a love interest (no sex here my friends, implied, perhaps!), a bit of violence and lots and lots of intrigue and information on a time I was eager to learn more about. I must admit I was taken by surprise by the reveal of the assassin (no spoilers here), you have to read almost to the very end to find out ”who did it”! I thoroughly enjoyed Mukherjee’s writing, his detail of the time was informational and makes me want to further explore this subject while I wait for the next adventures of Captain Wyndham and Sargeant Banerjee.
The author, Abir Mukherjee, photo by Nick Tucker.
Would I recommend the novel, absolutely and you know I always recommend patronizing your local Independent Bookseller.
Mukherjee recommends Ann Morrow’s HIGHNESS The Maharajahs of India for further research….on my list for sure.
I am recommending The Great Courses, A History of India, also on my list
A short post on this the first of May. By now you know my Lily of the Valley obsession….it doesn’t stop with objects, oh no it doesn’t…it continues to art, much of which I have shared with you, and for purposes for this report…..needlepoint, lots of needlepoint. More on that in a future nenasnotes. The above photo is a close up of the center of a small rug 2’ x 3’ that I designed and worked from a chart. I prefer working from charts rather than painted pieces, just my preference. I have done both, having created hundreds of pieces over the yesrs. This particular work was done in 1974 (it is signed and dated) and has been a wall hanging, a small area rug and now rests on the back of one of my loveseats. I think i have shown a glimpse in other photos of my home.
I’ve been anticipating doing this post forever…..if you are like me, I think of Ironstone as white….well silly me. The stunning platters are just the beginning of a connoisseurs major collections. Photo by me on my iPhone. This is my favorite pattern from the several groups in this treasure trove of Vintage Ironstone. Foolishly I didn’t match the makers stamp to the patterns but many of the items in this collection are Mason, the father of English Ironstone. You knew I would find a book or two for your reference!
A question I have been asking myself, sorry for the lack of posts….lots of reasons, primarily a dead computer….a learning curve of doing nenasnotes on my iPad, let’s just call it frustration, confusion and loss of clear focus…let’s talk about it, shall we.
I think I’ll cross out the makeup and keep wine…well maybe keep both on the top of my list…..your thoughts my friends!!
Photo from Pinterest credit unknown
I for one can’t wait to get my hands on the book when it is published on April 27th, (you can pre-order on Amazon or Paper Studio Press right now!) I will actually need two, one to treasure and make it’s home in my fashion library, the other to cut up and ”play” dress up with like I did as a child. There are many ”celebrity” paper doll books but trust me this has the authenticity of being championed by one who knows what he is talking about! I believe this will start a new trend in paper doll book collecting, move over coloring books!!!
In last year’s Easter posting I highlighted wonderful Easter eggs (actually eggs in general, including my collection) I’m featuring our hopping friend the Easter Bunny this year in many guises. When I was visiting 
A little boy with his pet bunnies in this delightful Victorian print. Love the nostalgia.
A week after we learned of the death of the last of the great couturiers I feel everything has been written about this extraordinary creator by those who knew him, wrote about him and treasured his memory. His creativity was unparalleled not only in the world of fashion but also in his homes and his magnificent gardens.
This photo, now in the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago, hung on my office wall was from the first launch. Unfortunately, like several other designer photos, the salutation has faded into oblivion over the years.
A print found at 
A beautiful sleek American Robin, I do see them occasionally. Image from Pinterest credit unknown.
A basket of Robin’s eggs photo found on Pinterest credit unknown.
A charming watercolor (one of two) of an English Robin given to me by a dear English friend who is no longer with us….I have it close to where I can constantly see it to remind me of her and our weekly Sunday chats! I found the hand carved destressed white wood frame at RSM and feel it compliments it perfectly. I love the difference between our Robins…ours sleek and their British cousins, short and stout!!!! I love both. (My photo)
One of my vignettes, I try to group like items together, here you see several variations on the bird theme, a book of poems given to me by another dear friend, two already framed pictures…the larger a lithograph print with metal frame, the small round carved wooden Italian frame surrounding a delightful miniature watercolor of a bird’s nest. The concrete bird is the lone element left from my Evanston garden (and Mom’s over two hundred English roses plus other cutting flowers!) part of the birdbath shell with a cherub (which now reside in a friend’s country estate). I used one of my iPhone filters to distress the image, I think makes it a bit moody!
Silver plated Woodcock mounted on a wooden disk.
