THE INDIA FAN

by Victoria Holt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1988

Yet another spinning of that prepubescent female fantasy in which a gift living in the shadow of some great house is drawn into its mysteries. Holt, author of more than 25 romantic suspense novels, knows this clark dream inside out by now, but still manages a fresh and steadily compelling take on it. Drusilla Delany is the cozy main character here, a Victorian rector's daughter and companion to the beautiful, egocentric Lavinia Frambling. Drusilla is captivated both by Lavinia's brother, Fabian, and by Framling Hall--""I had always sensed that extraordinary things could happen in this house,"" she ruminates. They do, to begin with, when she's called upon to help tempestuous Lavinia handle an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Lavinia shows her thanks by stealing Drusilla's one beau, Dougal Carruthers, then heading off to India, where Dougal and Fabian work for the East India Trading Company. Soon Drusilla follows to serve as governess to Lavinia's two children, landing in Dehli just as the city ignites in the Sepoy Rebellion. Lavinia's death at the hands of angry Indians is just as ugly as she deserves. Meanwhile, Drusilla manages to get the children to safety, and is rewarded back in England with a marriage proposal from Fabian, and a happily-ever-after in The Big House. The Indian half of this--with its details about Hindu assassins, venomous snakes, and exotic poisons--is especially diverting, and the book as a whole, definitely no letdown for Holt fans.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION