Gita Mehta : Raj

THE BOOK: The triumphant story of one woman and her nation, Gita Mehta's best selling first novel takes us through the history of modern India in the years leading up to Independence. Jaya Singh is born into the old, princely India and stands as a living symbol of the changes the continent struggles to make to bring itself in line with the 20th century whilst still clinging to the richness and the colour of her past. Epic, immensely readable: 'a more important book than Jewel in the crown' - Daily Mail