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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
Chai tea anyone? You’ll need it if you’re hunkering down with Janet MacLeod Trotter’s ‘The Sapphire Child’ to be published December 08, 2020. You are about to embark on a 524-page evocative journey back to Rawalpindi in the foothills of the Himalayas and discover what life was like in colonial India.
Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas in Northern India in 1933, Trotter shares the story of childhood friends, Stella Dubois and Andrew Lomax. Andrew’s father and stepmother own the vibrant Raj Hotel in Rawalpindi and Stella is the daughter of the hotel manager. Strain is put on their friendship when Andrew, expelled from school, leaves India to join his overbearing mother in Scotland. Over the next few years, the two see little of each other as life keeps them busy. When WW2 breaks out, Andrew joins the army and Stella, having suffered recent betrayal, joins the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. Embittered with life, the two unexpectedly meet in India and receive the answers they each need to move on with their life. Has their friendship withstood the test of time? Has war changed them too much to rekindle their friendship? Can they put scandal and heartbreak behind them?
I absolutely loved the backdrop of colonial India! It reminded me of the 2015-2106 British drama, Indian Summers, with Julie Walters. Trotter’s impeccable research made for such a fantastic read. She wrote to all the senses; I could almost feel the heat and humidity, smell the pungent spices, hear the throngs and see the architecture and décor of the British Raj that flavoured the final years of their rule in India. A true smorgasbord for the senses.
Paramount to Trotter’s success is her access to the treasure trove of old diaries, letters, photos and home movies of her grandparents. Having left Edinburgh to live and work in Northern India she was able to draw on their intrepid travels between 1920 – 1950. Her encompassing story is full of twists and turns, unexpected events and colourful, unique characters. Trotter masterfully brings to life colonial India and the ex-pat experiences.
Central to the theme of this historical family drama is forbidden love, the devastation of heartbreak, the power of family and the importance of getting to the truth instead of making assumptions.
My heart is full and I’m feeling uplifted after such a purely indulgent experience.
Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas in Northern India in 1933, Trotter shares the story of childhood friends, Stella Dubois and Andrew Lomax. Andrew’s father and stepmother own the vibrant Raj Hotel in Rawalpindi and Stella is the daughter of the hotel manager. Strain is put on their friendship when Andrew, expelled from school, leaves India to join his overbearing mother in Scotland. Over the next few years, the two see little of each other as life keeps them busy. When WW2 breaks out, Andrew joins the army and Stella, having suffered recent betrayal, joins the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. Embittered with life, the two unexpectedly meet in India and receive the answers they each need to move on with their life. Has their friendship withstood the test of time? Has war changed them too much to rekindle their friendship? Can they put scandal and heartbreak behind them?
I absolutely loved the backdrop of colonial India! It reminded me of the 2015-2106 British drama, Indian Summers, with Julie Walters. Trotter’s impeccable research made for such a fantastic read. She wrote to all the senses; I could almost feel the heat and humidity, smell the pungent spices, hear the throngs and see the architecture and décor of the British Raj that flavoured the final years of their rule in India. A true smorgasbord for the senses.
Paramount to Trotter’s success is her access to the treasure trove of old diaries, letters, photos and home movies of her grandparents. Having left Edinburgh to live and work in Northern India she was able to draw on their intrepid travels between 1920 – 1950. Her encompassing story is full of twists and turns, unexpected events and colourful, unique characters. Trotter masterfully brings to life colonial India and the ex-pat experiences.
Central to the theme of this historical family drama is forbidden love, the devastation of heartbreak, the power of family and the importance of getting to the truth instead of making assumptions.
My heart is full and I’m feeling uplifted after such a purely indulgent experience.
The Sapphire Child is the second in Janet MacLeod Trotter’s Raj Hotel series, though can be enjoyed as a standalone if you haven’t read the first book, The Emerald Affair. The book features many of the characters from the first book but brings more focus on the next generation as they grow to adulthood and the Second World War approaches.
Thirteen year old Andrew is the son of Tom Lomax and his estranged wife Lydia. At the beginning of the book, after an altercation which results in him leaving his school, he is excited to have the opportunity to travel to Scotland to spend the summer with his mother who he hasn’t seen since he was a baby. Escorting him on the voyage is his childhood friend Stella. She is equally as excited to be visiting Britain, a place she, like many Brits living in India at the time, considers home even though she’s never been there before. We follow these characters over the next few years both in Scotland and back in India at very important stages of their lives.
This is a book which will appeal to all the senses. The author depicts the heat of India so well and also the cold of Scotland. Although, it was also cold in India up in the hills where Tom and Lydia are snowed in over the winter months. It’s an aspect of India I don’t often consider, as it’s a country I always think of as being hot. The food in India in particular sounded delicious. I always enjoy a book that takes me away to another place and, although Ebbsmouth was certainly a more familiar setting, being not far from Edinburgh, I so enjoyed the trip to Raj India.
Family secrets are a big theme in this book and that’s what I enjoyed the most. It was clear to see the effect that these secrets had on young Andrew’s life. Sometimes the secrets had been kept with the best of intentions and sometimes for more devious reasons. As he gradually became aware of them, he really had to rethink a lot of what he thought he knew. Stella had some secrets of her own and my heart really went out to her and the predicament she found herself in.
Although not the main focus of the book, there is a rather lovely romance woven throughout the story too. As a reader, I was fairly sure I knew how this would pan out but it was lovely to see the characters come to this same realisation, a rather beautifully written heartwarming scene.
The historical aspect of the book is also deserving of a mention. As well as taking her readers to a different place, the author is excellent at transporting them to a different time too. This book takes place in the 1930s and 40s, a time when British rule in India and indeed throughout the Empire was rightly being questioned and beginning to reach its end.
The Sapphire Child is a book you can lose yourself in for many hours as you experience life in a different place and a different time. The author obviously has a passion for India as well as personal knowledge and this comes across clearly in her writing. Fans of historical fiction set in exotic climes with a side order of family secrets and love will enjoy this book. A very satisfying read, I do hope there might be another book in this series continuing to follow the lives of these characters.
Thirteen year old Andrew is the son of Tom Lomax and his estranged wife Lydia. At the beginning of the book, after an altercation which results in him leaving his school, he is excited to have the opportunity to travel to Scotland to spend the summer with his mother who he hasn’t seen since he was a baby. Escorting him on the voyage is his childhood friend Stella. She is equally as excited to be visiting Britain, a place she, like many Brits living in India at the time, considers home even though she’s never been there before. We follow these characters over the next few years both in Scotland and back in India at very important stages of their lives.
This is a book which will appeal to all the senses. The author depicts the heat of India so well and also the cold of Scotland. Although, it was also cold in India up in the hills where Tom and Lydia are snowed in over the winter months. It’s an aspect of India I don’t often consider, as it’s a country I always think of as being hot. The food in India in particular sounded delicious. I always enjoy a book that takes me away to another place and, although Ebbsmouth was certainly a more familiar setting, being not far from Edinburgh, I so enjoyed the trip to Raj India.
Family secrets are a big theme in this book and that’s what I enjoyed the most. It was clear to see the effect that these secrets had on young Andrew’s life. Sometimes the secrets had been kept with the best of intentions and sometimes for more devious reasons. As he gradually became aware of them, he really had to rethink a lot of what he thought he knew. Stella had some secrets of her own and my heart really went out to her and the predicament she found herself in.
Although not the main focus of the book, there is a rather lovely romance woven throughout the story too. As a reader, I was fairly sure I knew how this would pan out but it was lovely to see the characters come to this same realisation, a rather beautifully written heartwarming scene.
The historical aspect of the book is also deserving of a mention. As well as taking her readers to a different place, the author is excellent at transporting them to a different time too. This book takes place in the 1930s and 40s, a time when British rule in India and indeed throughout the Empire was rightly being questioned and beginning to reach its end.
The Sapphire Child is a book you can lose yourself in for many hours as you experience life in a different place and a different time. The author obviously has a passion for India as well as personal knowledge and this comes across clearly in her writing. Fans of historical fiction set in exotic climes with a side order of family secrets and love will enjoy this book. A very satisfying read, I do hope there might be another book in this series continuing to follow the lives of these characters.
This was a really enjoyable read for me, I found that i really enjoyed the characters and the uniqueness of the surroundings, being that it primarily took place in India and then the on going events of the war that was included within the story. It was want drew me into reading this one, as it had connections to the World Wars weaved throughout the story, putting yet another perspective on what it may have been like to experience the horror of living during the time of war.
This was a 5 star read for me, meaning that it was one Id reread and it most defiantly made me feel along with the characters as the story unfolded.
Highly recommend this story to those who enjoy a simple and subtle love story, the creation of friendships, family and all other bonds in between, mixed into the events of a world war!
for more in-depth review please check out my book blog.
skysbookblog.wordpress.com
This was a 5 star read for me, meaning that it was one Id reread and it most defiantly made me feel along with the characters as the story unfolded.
Highly recommend this story to those who enjoy a simple and subtle love story, the creation of friendships, family and all other bonds in between, mixed into the events of a world war!
for more in-depth review please check out my book blog.
skysbookblog.wordpress.com