Heat and dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

HEAT AND DUST is set in India, the story of Olivia, beautiful, spoilt, bored, who outrages society in the tiny, suffocating town where her husband is a civil servant, by eloping with an Indian prince - and of her step-granddaughter who, 50 years later, goes back to the heat, the dust and the squalor of the Satipur bazaars to solve the enigma of Olivia's scandal.

"A superb book

A complex story line, handled with dazzling assurance... moving and profound. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has not only written a penetrating and compassionate love story, she has also exposed the soul and nerve ends of a fascinating and compelling country. This is a book of cool, controlled brilliance.

It is a jewel to be treasured*

The Times