Black Narcissus

Description

High in the Himalayas near Darjeeling, the old mountaintop palace shines like a jewel. When it was the General's 'harem' palace, richly dressed ladies wandered the windswept terraces; at night, music floated out over the villages and gorges. Now, the General's son has bestowed it on an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mary. Well-intentioned yet misguided, the nuns set about taming the gardens and opening a school and dispensary for the villagers. They are dependent on the local English agent of Empire, Mr Dean; but his charm and insolent candour are disconcerting. And the implacable emptiness of the mountain, the ceaseless winds, exact a toll on the Sisters.When Mr Dean says bluntly, 'This is no place for a nunnery,' it is as if he foresees their destiny. . .

Rumer Godden (1907-98) was the acclaimed author of over sixty works of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. Born in England, she and her siblings grew up in Narayanganj, India, and she later spent many years living in Calcutta and Kashmir. Several of her novels were made into films, including BLACK NARCISSUS, THE GREENGAGE SUMMER and THE RIVER, which was filmed by Jean Renoir. She was appointed OBE in 1993.

A remarkable and beautiful book * Daily Telegraph * A remarkable novel. One in a thousand * Observer * Like Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, Black Narcissus is one of those rare novels that combines huge popular appeal with emotional subtlety and literary skill -- Anne Chisholm Godden's wonderful book sets out a complex vision of the variety, necessity and danger of desire, rendered into a story that is completely pleasurable. I envy anyone reading it for the first time. -- Amanda Coe [Godden has] a genius for storytelling * Evening Standard * [A] beautiful novel * Daily Mail * All [Godden's novels] have one important thing in common: They are beautifully and simply wrought by a woman of depth and sensitivity * Los Angeles Times *