A SINGULAR HOSTAGE
By Thalassa Ali
Review (Headline) - March 2002
ISBN 0747269793 PB
Fiction / Historical Midlist
1838, The Punjab, India

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
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In the first year of Queen Victoria's reign, young Mariana Givens is sent out by her family to find a husband. She finds herself living in the camp of Lord Auckland, the Governor-General and his two sisters who are hoping to negotiate an alliance with the dying Maharajah Ranjit Singh of the Punjab. This is the eve of the First Afghan War, as Britain and Russia vie for control of Central Asia in "The Great Game," and as the Maharajah's state lies between British India and Afghanistan, it is vital to get him on the side of the British. But Mariana is singled out as the chosen one to recapture the kidnapped baby son of one of the Maharajah's courtiers after a mystic's vision has selected her, the only British woman who can speak the native languages. All she wants is to get married, but she finds herself instead being drawn inexorably towards the fate of baby Saboor, whose mother has been poisoned and who is being held hostage by the Maharajah who believes he has magic powers to save his life.

Thalassa Ali describes vividly the atmosphere of the British camp, the heat and dust, attitudes between conquerors and conquered, and how Mariana's involvement with the native people turns the course of her life forever. This is not a fast read, but a novel that builds its momentum slowly, culminating in some surprises and much drama as Mariana and Saboor's stories entwine, and this one drama is played out amid the historical backdrop of the durbar at Firozpur. The author uses the supernatural as a rare spice and the various visions and mystic cures from fatal snakebites blend into the tale as incidents in a place where anything can happen and the line between the ordinary and extraordinary is blurred. The threat of war with Afghanistan gives the book a topical feel, and in all, this is a rich and satisfying read.

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