Early one morning, on the lawns of a grand boulevard in central Delhi, a group of professionals are attending their therapeutic Laughing Club when a 20-foot apparition of the Goddess Kali apppears, and strikes one of their number dead.The goddess disappears without trace, and soon news of the crime has all India agog.
Meet Vish Puri, India?s most private investigator. Portly, persistent and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swathe through modern India?s swindlers, cheats and murderers.In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centres and malls are changing the ancient fabric of Indian life, Puri?s main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri?s resources to investigate. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants? And why is his widowed 'Mummy-ji? attempting to play sleuth when everyone knows Mummies are not detectives?With his team of undercover operatives - Tubelight, Flush and Facecream - Puri ingeniously combines modern techniques with principles of detection established in India more than two thousand years ago -- long before 'that Johnny-come-lately? Sherlock Holmes donned his Deerstalker.The search for Mary takes him to the desert oasis of Jaipur and the remote mines of Jharkhand. From his well-heeled Gymkhana Club to the slums where the servant classes live, Puri?s adventures reveal modern India in all its seething complexity.
Keď úctyhodný sir Horace Stanton-Lacy odíde na pracovnú cestu do Južnej Ameriky, nechá svoju jedinú dcéru Sophy u sestry Elizabeth Rivenhallovej, ktorá býva s rodinou na Berkeley Square. Lady Ombersleyová naveľa súhlasí, že sa ujme mladej netere, no ani jej nenapadne, že veselá, impulzívna a nevšedná dievčina vtrhne do londýnskej spoločnosti ako víchor a načisto rozmetá všetky konvencie a tradície. Sophy veru nie je spôsobná mladá dáma, akú Rivenhallovci očakávali, keď sa jej ujali. Dobrosrdečná teta Lizzie je ohromená a Sophin arogantný a prísny bratanec Charles Rivenhall sa rozhodne nájsť jej čím skôr manžela, aby rodinu nadobro zbavil tohto všetečného trápenia. Hoci pre neskrotnú Sophy je pobyt u príbuzných doteraz najťažšou skúškou, zistí, že jej rodina prežíva krušné časy a zúfalo potrebuje jej talent dať všetko do poriadku. Svojou neúnavnosťou a nezvyčajnými metódami doslova ovládne domácnosť. No získa si aj srdce muža, ktorý by sa jej najradšej zbavil?
Rozvážna a bystrá Mary Challonerová je presvedčená, že skazený, zlomyseľný Dominic Alastair, markíz z Vidalu, sa s jej sestrou Sophiou napriek matkiným intrigám nezamýšľa oženiť. Rozhodne sa, že zachráni sestrinu povesť a dá rozmaznanému markízovi poriadnu príučku. Ani vo sne jej však nenapadlo, že sa jej rozzúrený šľachtic pomstí únosom! Keď sa v ňom konečne prebudí zodpovednosť a uvedomí si, že uniesol nevinné, počestné dievča, navrhne jej sobáš. Ale čo sa stane, ak si Mary dovolí hrdého a očareného markíza odmietnuť?
Oprah Book Club® Selection, September 2000: In the realm of 19th-century literature, social constraints created compelling narratives, but today's relaxed morals challenge the relevance of these classics. The allure of historical novels lies in revisiting a time when a woman's fate could hinge on her choices, with no options for reliable birth control or divorce. Christina Schwarz's gripping debut centers on the themes of silence and stoicism. Set in 1919, following the influenza epidemic post-World War I, the story unfolds in a small Wisconsin town where societal norms remain strict. Amanda Starkey, a Lutheran farmer's daughter, is pressured against marrying a Catholic boy. Later, as a nurse in Milwaukee, she succumbs to a dishonorable man's advances, leading to a nervous breakdown and a return to her family farm. Tragedy strikes when her sister Mathilde drowns under mysterious circumstances. Upon Mathilde's husband Carl's return from war, he finds his daughter Ruth in Amanda's care, who remains tight-lipped about the fateful night. Amanda reflects on her parents' deaths, feeling responsible for transmitting the influenza that claimed them. Schwarz masterfully weaves this grim narrative across decades, consistently returning to Mathilde's death, showcasing her talent for pacing and her commitment to a fitting, albeit harsh, conclusion. --Regina Marler
Attraverso gli occhi e l’anima dell’esteta per eccellenza, uno squarcio brillante e acuto della società londinese dell’epoca, dei costumi e degli ideali artisti che la animavano.