Sourcebooks Casablanca The India Fan

VH writes with an imagination that is sometimes hard to follow with its twists and turns, but difficult to put down. With a nod to real history here and the difficulties that are unimaginable, you find your heart in your mouth at times. But stepping into the heat and the hustle and bustle, there is a connection of humanity that is hard to ignore. And all this with a key item - a fan. Wow. Brilliant and transfixing. Who could know where it was leading.

A scholarly book in some ways, teaching history, promoting further reading.

I am a huge fan of Eleanor Hibbert who wrote as Victoria Holt, among other pen names. 30 years ago, during my teenage years, I spent many long summer days being swept away by her tales of gothic romance. I am thrilled that Amazon is releasing her books on Kindle.Having said that, The India Fan is not my favorite book by this author. It's certainly NOT a bad book. But if you are a fan of her earlier works, such as "Mistress of Mellyn" or "Menfreya in the Morning", be aware that The India Fan, a later work, has a completely different feel. For me, Victoria Holt is like comfort food. I go into her novels looking for mystery and romance in a historical setting. While The India Fan has some of each, they are overshadowed by other elements. I am not sure how to describe this book in simple terms. Perhaps "historical, women's fiction". The setting takes you from England, to France, to India, with a little bit of Egypt thrown in as well, and Ms. Holt certainly knows how to make history and foreign cultures come alive.As mentioned by another reviewer, the romantic male lead is absent for most of the book. The book really focuses on the relationship between Drusilla, our protagonist, and her frenemy Lavinia. Their relationship spans around two decades from when they meet as very young children until both of them are in their 20s. Drusilla is smart, practical, and plain. Lavinia is beautiful and foolhardy. In modern terms, they would be described as somewhat co-dependent. Lavinia gets into scrapes, and Drusilla helps her get out of them. Drusilla, sheltered and from a family of modest income, thrives on the excitement and experiences she gains from her relationship with Lavinia's wealthy and worldly family.Perhaps because this was one of her later works, the book doesn't seem as tightly written as it could have been. I am guessing after years of successful novels, the publishers probably let Ms. Holt write whatever, and however, she wanted. But at times, the writing felt rambling and repetitive (just like this review!). Some of the internal dialog belabored the obvious quite extensively and I found myself skimming paragraphs here and there. Drusilla can at times seem rather self-righteous. Lavinia, the poor thing, never changed. There was never any growth in her character. She was exactly the same person at the end of the book as she was at the beginning, making her almost cartoon like by the end. Much was made of how Lavinia's mother had spoiled her, with the suggestion that all of Lavinia's problems were caused by her upbringing. So, why did her brother, Fabian, who was even more spoiled by his mother, turn out so awesome? Just a thought.Fabian. . .well, he offended me which I found surprising. I have always loved Ms. Holt's arrogant, bossy heroes. But every time he called Drusilla a child, I found myself very annoyed.I enjoyed The India Fan. I didn't love it and I probably won't read it again. But I'm glad I bought it.

If "The India Star" had been edited differently, it would have been a five-star book. The characters and plot are fabulous, despite being rather predictable, and the dialogue is exquisite. Unfortunately, it dragged like crazy, and something about the tone made me feel like the entire book was just a prelude, like the sort of dispassionate retelling that comes just before the real story starts. In part that's because the main character is intended to be withdrawn, sensible, and cautious, and the time one of social circumspection. With a few tweaks to pick up the pace and a very slight change in the tone to allow for more emotional connection, I would have absolutely loved it. As is, I wish I'd spent the time on another tale.

Great hard back. Don’t mind that it came from a library! Love books.. so it’s all good!