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A review by elliemcc11
The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing this review copy.
Gwen is a young British woman who set sails for Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where she's meeting her husband, a widower who's family has owned a tea plantation for many years. She's filled with trepidation but meets a kind Sri Lankan man who directs her to the nearest colonial hotel. Her husband eventually arrives and after a romantic rendevous they travel to the plantation and she immerses herself in the life of a colonial wife.
This novel, set in the interwar years, is filled with wonderful imagery of life in Ceylon. Parties, visits to local markets, the smells and sounds of Asia fill the senses but the author also refers to some of the very real difficulties facing the "native" population. Workers from India and native Sri Lankans work the tea plantations, living destitute lives, and there are undercurrents of political uncertainty and the potential for things to change in an instant.
Against this backdrop Gwen meets other Westerners, including her husband's ex-lover, and his much younger sister who is a mixed up young woman, in love with the wrong person. Gwen's cousin visits and she too falls for the charms of a Sri Lankan man, but again this relationship is frowned up.
After scene setting we move the the main story - there was from the outset a mystery about the dead wife and we are given snippets of information. When Gwen falls pregnant after a party and gives birth to twins her world falls apart, and without revealing spoilers, family history rears it's head once again. She finds it a very difficult time, only consoled by the fact she has her precious son.
The resolution of the story is very interesting and the author provides notes in the back to explain a little how colonial life worked. This was a useful backdrop but best leaving until the book is read! Overall this was an enjoyable read and I'd read novels by the author again.
Gwen is a young British woman who set sails for Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where she's meeting her husband, a widower who's family has owned a tea plantation for many years. She's filled with trepidation but meets a kind Sri Lankan man who directs her to the nearest colonial hotel. Her husband eventually arrives and after a romantic rendevous they travel to the plantation and she immerses herself in the life of a colonial wife.
This novel, set in the interwar years, is filled with wonderful imagery of life in Ceylon. Parties, visits to local markets, the smells and sounds of Asia fill the senses but the author also refers to some of the very real difficulties facing the "native" population. Workers from India and native Sri Lankans work the tea plantations, living destitute lives, and there are undercurrents of political uncertainty and the potential for things to change in an instant.
Against this backdrop Gwen meets other Westerners, including her husband's ex-lover, and his much younger sister who is a mixed up young woman, in love with the wrong person. Gwen's cousin visits and she too falls for the charms of a Sri Lankan man, but again this relationship is frowned up.
After scene setting we move the the main story - there was from the outset a mystery about the dead wife and we are given snippets of information. When Gwen falls pregnant after a party and gives birth to twins her world falls apart, and without revealing spoilers, family history rears it's head once again. She finds it a very difficult time, only consoled by the fact she has her precious son.
The resolution of the story is very interesting and the author provides notes in the back to explain a little how colonial life worked. This was a useful backdrop but best leaving until the book is read! Overall this was an enjoyable read and I'd read novels by the author again.