A Far Horizon

alcutta, 1756. In Indian Black Town, the luminously beautiful Sati is believed to be possessed by the goddess Kali, and finds herself at the centre of a religious cult. In British White Town, Chief Magistrate Holwell and Governor Drake come together to face a common enemy – Siraj Uddaulah, the volatile young nawab in Murshidabad.


When the nawab finally descends upon Calcutta with a huge army, it’s too late for those British residents who have not fled the city in time. Locked into Fort William with a large number of the Black Town population, these British prisoners spend a night of horror that would become legend of the history of the Raj.


Lushly written and richly evocative, A Far Horizon is a sweeping chronicle of the notorious incident of the Black Hole of Calcutta that would later be used to justify the British empire’s colonisation of India. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meira Chand is of Indian-Swiss parentage and was born and educated in London. In 1997 she moved to Singapore, where she is now a citizen. Her multi-cultural heritage is reflected in her many novels, which include Sacred Waters, A Different Sky (a Waterstones Book of the Month; recommended by Oprah Winfrey), The Painted Cage (longlisted for the 1986 Booker prize), A Choice of Evils, House of the Sun, Last Quadrant, The Bonsai Tree and The Gossamer Fly.