The Far Pavilions: Amazon.ca: M. M. Kaye: Books

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Rip-roaring, heart-tugging, flag-flying, hair-raising, hoof-beating ... the very presence of India The Times A long, romantic adventure story of the highest calibre ... wildly exciting Daily Telegraph Magnificent is the only possible description for The Far Pavilions ... not one of its 950 pages is a page too much Evening Standard A Gone With the Wind of the North-West frontier -- Jan Morris The Times A massive, meticulously researched and fascinating saga about the British in India, encompassing a guarter of a century, from the Mutiny up to war with ferocious Afghan tribemen Sunday Express --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

This is a magnificent romantic/historical/adventure novel set in India at the time of mutiny. "The Far Pavilions" is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about an English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess. It is the story of divided loyalties, of friendship that endures till death, of high adventure and of the clash between East and West. To the burning plains and snow-capped mountains of this great, humming continent, M.M. Kaye brings her quite exceptional gift of storytelling and meticulous historical accuracy, plus her insight into the human heart. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
Ashton Hilary Akbar Pelham-Martyn was born in a camp near the crest of a pass in the Himalayas, and subsequently christened in a patent canvas bucket. Read the first page

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

52 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (52 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best epic novel ever, Dec 17 2000

By

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Far Pavilions (Paperback)

This book is at once a sweeping romance, a gripping adventure story, and a tale about identity and belonging. I just love it, and re-read it regularly. M M Kaye is simply the most marvellous story teller, and her descriptions of India are breath-taking too.

It is the story of Ashton/Ashok - an English boy brought up by a peripatetic father in the foothills of the Himalayas - he is about 6 years old when cholera strikes the camp and kills everyone but himself and his nurse. She takes him down into India to give him back to the safety of the English - but this is 1857 and India is in mutiny against the English. Ash, having been brought up amongst Indians can speak their languages fluently, and he is the right colouring to pass as one of the races from the North where they are paler. So his nurse escapes from the troubles with him and brings him up as her own son. This sets the stage for many of his later problems, the key one being that of his identity - for when he must later seek safety with the English and his true birth is revealed he finds it difficult to know who he truly is for he is at once Indian and English. While a boy Ash meets Anjuli, a princess in the court where he is working. She is the daughter of an Indian/Russian mother - and because of her birth, and her mother's death in the court, she is also never really properly accepted.

MM Kaye sets this story against the grand displays of Indian courts, the British army (which Ashton later joins to return to India), teeming bazaars, and the different cultures and religions of India.

Its an enormous book to get through but it is well worth pretty much every page. I've never been one for long descriptions of war, and the scenes of the siege in Afghanistan towards the end I always find a bit of a trial. That is really such a small piece of the whole novel for most of it Ash and later Anjuli too, try to work out who they are and how they fit into India, or perhaps England. Their relationships and identities are tested against their friends who enter their lives and for various reasons leave them again. It is at once incredibly tragic and wonderfully romantic. I fell in love with India the first time I read this book and subsequent readings haven't changed my opinion.

MM Kaye wrote two other real epics. Shadow of the Moon which I also really love, although it is a bit more romantic than this one - and Trade Winds which is set in Zanzibar as I remember - but the heroine in that just doesn't gel for me. The Far Pavillions is simply the best epic novel ever written (I think)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Historical Fiction, July 8 2007

By

Teddy (Richmond, BC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Far Pavilions (Paperback)

I bought this book a few years, but just got around to reading it now. I love the book Gone with the Wind, so when I saw the back cover that made a comparison of the two; I had to have it.

Well I don't really see much of a comparison to Gone With the Wind, I do see many shining merits of it's own. The budding romance was beautiful, but this book is great for both men and women. M.M. Kayes wrote a large tapestry of a book with believable characters that came alive. The descriptions of the landscapes were breath taking and the history was explosive.

It took me about 75 pages to get into this book, but the pay off for sticking with it was great. I highly recommend this book for any historical fiction lover interested in British occupied India and Afghanistan.

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5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe I waited 25+ years to read this again!, Jan 26 2007

By

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Far Pavilions (Paperback)

Oh well, the first copy I had I loaned out and never got back. I would give this 10 stars if I could, I had forgotten how good this book was. Thank you Amazon, for recommending books and Listmania -- so many wonderful books I would never have found or rediscovered without you! A truly wonderful story of star-crossed lovers, treachery, intrigue, heroism, honor and bigotry. The author has a great feel and understanding of India under the British Raj. The story of Ash and Juli (Anjuli) was incredible. I could literally feel Ash's pain while he had to sit through watching Juli be married to the evil Maharajah.

The first 2/3 of the book deal with Ash and Julie's early lives together, culminating in the rescue of Juli from being Suttee with her sister. Those pages have to be some of the most heart stopping, page turning, sit on the edge of your seat excitement that I have ever come across in a book (and I have read a few).

The last portion of the book gets away from Ash and Juli (although they are together) and slows down to tell the story of the British incursions into Afghanistan (sp?)and the resultant disaster of setting up a British mission in Kabul. Ash is still prominent as a "spy" for the guides, in the disguise of a native of the country, but while still a good read, the story takes on a different character from the first portions of the book.

I resolve never to loan this book out again so that I won't lose it, and to keep it on my "to be read again and again" shelf throughout the years. Highly recommended.

As a side note, if you are searching for a book for a younger teen to read, this is a good choice. The few scenes between Ash and Juli that were sexual in nature were left mostly to one's imagination. This author is capable of building her scenes without graphic play by play bodice ripping.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous momumental work of historical fiction!
This is the classic historical love story by M.M Kaye- her best known work and well regarded as her best work. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2003 by K. J. Blake

5.0 out of 5 stars The Far Pavillions
The Far Pavillions is the best book I have ever read. It's capitvating, suspensful and will keep your interested. A fictional novel based on facts. I highly recommend this book.

Published on Jun 16 2003