East of the Sun

April 13, 2009
British author Gregson bows in America with her fast-paced second novel, an absorbing international period drama concerning three young Englishwomen and a troubled boy journeying to India in the late 1920s. The eldest at 25, Viva Holloway is an orphan hoping to retrieve her lost parents' personal effects; she's paying her way by chaperoning three younger travelers. Rose Wetherby is going to India to be married; Victoria “Tor” Sowerby is Rose's bridesmaid; and 16-year-old Guy Glover is returning home after getting expelled from school for stealing. Throughout, narrative shifts reveal the travelers' perspectives and fears: Viva is haunted by a childhood and family she barely remembers; Rose is growing increasingly nervous about how little she knows of her fiancé; and Tor is eager, after a disappointing deb season in London, to find a husband of her own and avoid returning to England. Guy's strange behavior makes it clear he's unstable, and before long, he's assaulted a member of a powerful Indian family, setting off a frightening chain of events for both himself and Viva. Gregson's rich imagery, strong characters and gripping plot make this a resonant page-turner.

May 1, 2009
In the fall of 1928, Viva Holloway needs to return to India to retrieve a trunk left by her deceased parents, but how to pay for the trip? By accepting a position as chaperone for several young people sailing west. Rose is a nervous bride-to-be, engaged to a military man she has met only a handful of times. Her maid of honor, Victoria, is terrified of facing her mother if she returns to England without a husband. And the sullen Guy doesnt say much, but what he does say is very unsettling. Viva, only a few years older than her wards, is responsible for keeping them on track, but India in the waning years of British rule is dangerous for anyone, let alone three English misses and a disturbed teenager. With lavishly detailed settings and every character, however marginal, fleshed out to perfection, Gregsons historical novelis a sweeping, emotional read, well suited for arichly produced and compellingpublic televisionminiseries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)