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In Victorian England, a servant is exposed to the sins of colonialism that haunt a wealthy family in this dark Gothic fantasyfrom an award-winning author.
World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award-winning author
In a curio shop located in one of the darkest corners of Victorian London, young Annie Ember is gifted an ivory charm in the shape of an elephant. Its presence becomes the catalyst for the tragic events that alter her life. Annie's abusive brother-in-law is killed by her sister, who is sentenced to be hanged for protecting her. Alone and homeless, Annie secures employment as a maid in a country estate.
Sir Hampton Smolte earned his fortune as a soldier in the British Raj. In majestic palaces and sweltering jungles, he was exposed to a culture that embraced a pantheon of gods, consumed an unusual spicy cuisine, and confronted dangerous wildlife. Smolte loathed everything about India yet employed its women to raise his children, and upon his return to England, decorated his home with its treasures, artifacts, and iconography.
It is this home that Annie now serves. First in the depths of the kitchen among the bickering staff, then in the parlors of the family, where she's forced to submit to their eccentric demands and cruel desires. And as each of the Smoltes spirals further into madness, haunted by the shadow India casts over them, Annie's struggle to survive their whims conjures up the vengeance of an ancient power from a nation that suffered under the injustices of an empire.
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Tanith Lee (1947-2015) was born in the United Kingdom. Although she couldn't read until she was eight, she began writing at nine and never stopped, producing more than ninety novels and three hundred short stories. She also wrote for the BBC television series Blake's 7 and various BBC radio plays. After winning the 1980 British Fantasy Award for her novel Death's Master, endless awards followed. She was named a World Horror Grand Master in 2009 and honored with the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2013. Lee was married to artist and writer John Kaiine.
