M.M. Kaye’s Shadow of the Moon is an epic love story of dashing Captain Alex Randall and enchanting Winter de Ballestros. It is set in the backdrop of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 against the British colonial Raj. On the eve of the mutiny Captain Alex is ordered by his superior, the debauched Conway Barton, the Commissioner of Lanjore, to escort Winter, his fiancée, from England. On the way, Captian Alex falls helplessly in love with the beautiful and alluring Winter who is adamant to be married to Conway, her childhood hero. Despite cautious hints from Captain Alex, Winter marries the commissioner and finds to her horror that she has been trapped by the selfish and slovenly man. However, Winter sheds her childhood fantasies and awakens to her love for Alex and also the bitterness arising among the oppressed Indians for their insensitive rulers. Captain Alex, too, is aware of foreboding dangers and in vain takes measures to protect his countrymen in Lanjore, but the mutiny unleashes violence and massacre across India that is beyond imagination. However, Captain Alex escapes unhurt with Winter and few others. Only it is not the end of their travails, Captain Alex and Winter discover that they must survive their desperate surroundings; forest fire, harsh Indian climate, intriguing Indians and some of their own countrymen. In the end Brave Captain Alex and persistent Winter discover more than their undying love for each other.
Brought up in India during the British rule, M. M. Kaye with her rare understanding portrays an insightful world of the colonial India; it’s soft-spoken and yet mysterious people; it’s colorful and sometimes savage customs. Ms. Kaye has drawn us in the world where a nation is struggling to recover it’s dignity and freedom from it’s rulers, who seemed unaware of the impending dangers posed by their callousness toward their subjects. Shadow of the Moon is more than just a love story, it is a portrayal of the clash between two different cultures struggling to get the better of each other.
