Kingfishers Catch Fire

In colonial India, Sophie Barrington Ward, a recently widowed Englishwoman with two young children, tries to make a life for her family in a small village, but her disregard for local politics and customs results in a near-tragic misunderstanding

Godden's 1953 novel of Colonial India depicts an independent but naive British widow living in a village in Kashmir polarized by conflicting Hindus and Muslims.

Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This 1953 volume displays the familiar Godden premise of Britishers in India. In this instance, Sophie Barrington-Ward and her daughter set up house in Kashmir to live among the noble savages, whom they discover are more savage than noble after the girl is nearly beaten to death by other children and the servant attempts to poison Sophie. With characters that are "well drawn" and "the dreamy Indian landscape lovely to read about" ( LJ 5/15/53), this is for all large fiction collections.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.