Book summary

Olivia Rivers, first wife of colonial officer Douglas Rivers, is the central character in this book which is narrated by Anne, the granddaughter of Douglas Rivers by his second wife. In 1923, Olivia Rivers travels to India to join Douglas at his post, but she has difficulty adjusting because the British maintain such a distance from the Indians. Olivia finds a local man, Nawab, more interesting than British colonial society, and eventually she develops an affair with him. In a parallel story, the narrator also becomes enamored on an Indian man, her landlord Inder Lal. Written after Jhabvala had begun her film collaborations with Merchant/Ivory, the book contains 23 sections, juxtaposing certain scenes together in the manner of a film. The book won the 1975 Booker Prize.

Media reviews

"'Heat and Dust' is not just good fiction. It is literature. Read it."