Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
The final book in the
bestselling Ibis trilogy
It is 1839
and tension has been rapidly mounting between China and British India following
the crackdown on opium smuggling by Beijing. With no resolution in sight, the
colonial government declares war.
One of the
vessels requisitioned for the attack, the Hind, travels eastwards from Bengal
to China, sailing into the midst of the First Opium War. The turbulent voyage
brings together a diverse group of travellers, each with their own agenda to
pursue. Among them is Kesri Singh, a havildar in the East India Company who
leads a company of Indian sepoys; Zachary Reid, an impoverished young sailor
searching for his lost love, and Shireen Modi, a determined widow en route to
China to reclaim her opium-trader husband's wealth and reputation. Flood of
Fire follows a varied cast of characters from India to China, through the
outbreak of the First Opium War and China's devastating defeat, to Britain's
seizure of Hong Kong.
Flood of Fire is a thrillingly realised and richly populated novel, imbued with a
wealth of historical detail, suffused with the magic of place and plotted with
verve. It is a beautiful novel in its own right, and a compelling conclusion to
an epic and sweeping story.
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