M. M. Kaye's Autobiographical Trilogy

I am thrilled to have stumbled upon this autobiographical trilogy of M. M. Kaye, The Sun in the Morning, Golden Afternoon, and Enchanted Evening. Anyone who has read Lauren Willig's The Betrayal of the Blood Lily knows that this book was her homage to Mollie Kaye's books and her enchantment with India, and being a fan of Willig's novels, I began collecting M. M. Kaye's works (which, unfortunately, are not easy to find -- I buy used copies.) Trade Wnd just blew me away and became a favorite last year, and I'm looking forward to reading Kaye's other epic novels. What an exciting and privileged life Mollie Kaye must have lived to have needed THREE volumes to write about her adventures in England, India and China! I know it will take me a while to work my way through these volumes (jam packed with fabulous photos of exotic settings, social gatherings, and fashions through the years), so I plan on savoring them. Here's a preview of each of her memoirs:




Volume I - The Sun in the Morning
In this wonderfully evocative autobiography M. M. Kaye, bestselling author of The Far Pavillions, Shadow of the Moon, and Trade Wind, recounts her first eighteen years in India and England. Rich in period detail and peopled with extraordinary and unforgettable characters, The Sun in the Morning is a brilliant and vivid memoir of life under the Raj.




Volume II - Golden Afternoon

Returning from an English boarding-school to India in 1927, Mollie Kaye plunges into the glories -- and embarrassments -- of the Delhi Season. But more than the social life of the Raj, she rediscovers her love for the country -- the magic paradise of Kashmir, the sun-scorched plains of Rajputana, the teeming life of the markets and the complexities of high-caste life. Spiced with humour, incident and her trenchant views of the world, both then and now, Golden Afternoon is suffused above all with the enchantment that is India.





Volume III - Enchanted Evening

M. M. Kaye is forced to leave her cherished home in India when her father takes a new post in China. Though at first disoriented by the unfamiliar customs and confusing protocol of her new surroundings, it is in China that she discovers the pleasures that come from independence. Coming into her own as a painter, Kaye first meets with artistic success in China and then moves to cramped quarters in London's South Kensington neighborhood where she begins to flourish as a writer. With vivid descriptions that comes with age, Mollie Kaye looks back on the years spent as a young woman in a world as yet unmarked by World War II's devastation.

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To explore more of M. M. Kaye's works, click here. She's an author not to be missed!

Trade Wind by M. M. Kaye

"The year is 1859 and Hero Hollis, beautiful and headstrong niece of the American Consul, arrives in Zanzibar. It is an earthly paradise; it is also the last outpost of the slave trade. A passionate opponent of slavery, Hero is swept into a turmoil of royal intrigue, abduction, piracy, smuggling, and a virulent cholera epidemic. There in Zanzibar, the most cruelly beautiful island of the southern seas, she must choose her love and unravel her destiny." (from Goodreads)

my thoughts:

Trade Wind was an amazing book that was absolutely impossible to put down! I have never read anything by M. M. Kaye prior to this, but I've already added The Far Pavilions to my "read now" list. I discovered her books when I saw Lauren Willig's (The Pink Carnation author) recommended reading list and thought I would give them a try. (Some are out of print -- I started Trade Wind with a library book, but quickly found a used paperback copy as I thought it was a keeper.)

I enjoy reading novels with lush, exotic settings and adventures at sea, and this is what you'll get, and a whole lot more, with Trade Wind. Kaye's writing is rich in detail and historical background, and the storylines have depth and breadth and scope --- lots of food for thought here as the reader travels with Hero Athena Hollis, an idealistic American, to the island of Zanzibar in the 1850's.

This tropical paradise is a study in contrasts: it is an exotic paradise of shimmering sand beaches, crystal waters, and perfumed with the scents of blooms and clove trees....on the other hand, there is filth, squalor, and disease. The clash of eastern and western cultures and ideas is interesting and thought-provoking, and while there is no way to justify slavery, Hero comes to realize that her noble but naive mission of attempting to put an end to inhumane practices is not as simple as she had supposed. In addition to the African slave trade, Hero learns that the plight of women in the Sultan's world is a form of slavery and difficult for her to accept. Does an outsider have the right to come into another's culture and impose their beliefs and way of living? Under what conditions is it justified?

Hero's relationship with the notorious slave trader and confidante of the Sultan, Captain Rory Frost, is also an intriguing and controversial part of the book. I can't discuss too much detail as it is a major spoiler, but the reader gradually learns more about the captain's background and motivations, and it's up the reader to decide whether to be sympathetic or not.

An epic adventure....at times poignant....highly recommended!

4.5/5 stars

Title: Trade Wind
Author: M. M. Kaye
genre: historical fiction
1981
Bantam Books
551 pages