The Native Born; or, the Rajah's People

The novel follows a community in colonial India where intersecting lives of English residents and local leaders are tested by social upheaval and violence. Personal dramas—marriage vows, fear during an attack, divided loyalties, and reformist plans for the bazaar—unfold alongside larger conflicts that culminate in catastrophe, murder, and temple reckonings. Themes of cultural friction, moral duty, idealism versus realism, and the costs of progress recur as characters confront fate, betrayal, and attempts at healing. The narrative alternates intimate domestic scenes with public crises, tracing consequences across generations and ending with reconciliations and unresolved questions about identity and power.