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M. M. Kaye (1908–2004)

Author of The Far Pavilions

30+ Works 8,254 Members 213 Reviews 37 Favorited

About the Author

M. M. Kaye was born on August 21, 1908 in Simla, India to British parents. She wrote numerous books during her lifetime including Death Walks in Kashmir, Later than You Think, Shadow of the Moon, Trade Wind, The Far Pavilions, The Sun in the Morning, Golden Afternoon, and Enchanted Evening. She show more also wrote and illustrated children's books including The Ordinary Princess. She died on January 29, 2004 at the age of 95. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Works by M. M. Kaye

The Far Pavilions (1978) 2,383 copies
The Ordinary Princess (1980) 1,699 copies
Shadow of the Moon (1957) 915 copies
Trade Wind (1963) 498 copies
Death in Kashmir (1953) 403 copies
Death in Zanzibar (1959) 377 copies
Death in Cyprus (1956) 351 copies
Death in Kenya (1958) 312 copies
Death in Berlin (1955) 304 copies
Death in the Andamans (1960) 290 copies
The Sun in the Morning (1990) 205 copies
The Far Pavilions, Volume 2 (1970) 98 copies
Golden Afternoon (1997) 81 copies
The Far Pavilions, Volume 1 (1978) 68 copies

Associated Works

Tagged

19th century (51) 20th century (39) adventure (58) Afghanistan (37) autobiography (50) biography (38) British (67) British Raj (56) children (40) children's (86) colonialism (26) crime (53) England (31) fairy tale (45) fairy tales (93) fantasy (193) favorites (30) fiction (887) hardcover (40) historical (102) historical fiction (383) historical romance (32) history (30) India (453) M.M. Kaye (34) memoir (40) murder mystery (30) mystery (441) non-fiction (27) novel (118) own (58) paperback (45) princess (55) read (90) romance (263) suspense (44) to-read (390) unread (36) young adult (26) Zanzibar (34)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Kaye, Mary Margaret
Other names
Kaye, Mollie
Birthdate
1908-08-21
Date of death
2004-01-29
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Simla, India
Place of death
Lavenham, Suffolk, England, UK
Places of residence
India
Kenya
Zanzibar
Egypt
Cyprus
Germany (show all 7)
Pevensey, Sussex, England, UK
Occupations
historical novelist
mystery writer
illustrator
autobiographer
Relationships
Kaye, Sir John William (grandfather's cousin)
Awards and honors
Colonel James Tod International Award, Maharana Mewar Foundation (2003)
Short biography
Mary Margaret ("Mollie") Kaye was born in India into a family of military officers and statesmen that had served the British government for many generations. Sir John William Kaye, one of her grandfather's cousins, was Political Secretary of the India Office and the author of the classic histories of the Indian Mutiny and the First Afghan War. Another cousin, Edward Kaye, commanded a battery at the 1857 Siege of Delhi and was later made a Lieutenant General. Mollie Kaye was born in Simla, the summer capital of the Raj, and spent the cool months of the year living in Delhi. In her obituary, the Guardian said, "[S]he was raised by servants, speaking Hindustani before English, while playing around gun emplacements and dodging her ayah to listen to storytellers in the Delhi bazaar. Like Kipling's Kim, she thought herself Indian, 'just a member of a different caste in a land of castes'. " After education at boarding school in England, Mollie returned to India. In 1945, she married Major-General Goff Hamilton of Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides; the couple had two daughters. Her husband's military postings took Mollie all over the world, and she juggled her duties as a mother and an officer's wife with her writing under the pen name M.M. Kaye. Her 3-volume autobiography is called Share of Summer and comprises The Sun In The Morning (1990), Golden Afternoon (1997), and Enchanted Evening (1999).

Members

Discussions

April 2022: M. M. Kaye in Monthly Author Reads (July 2022)

Reviews

The beginning was bumpy but a fun read when you're in the mood for a 50s-era romantic suspense mystery. It has lots of rich people, colonialism, brash Americans, plucky young woman in a bind, communists - all set in foreign airports and an exotic island (I'm imagining Grace Kelly and William Holden in the movie...)
 
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mmcrawford | 14 other reviews | Dec 5, 2023 |
Doesn't really wear well
 
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mrsnickleby | 66 other reviews | Nov 14, 2023 |
I watched the TV mini-series around the time of the 1984 Olympics (made a change from watching "V"!) and whilst the events are in a different order here, it is essentially the same story.[return][return]Ash is born in India to English parents, who are killed during an uprising when Ash is still a young boy. He is rescued by his nursemaid, who passes him off as her son, since he is dark enough to pass as a native. His new mother gets a job in the palace of a maharaja, and Ash becomes the bodyguard/playmate of his favourite son. He is also followed around by the baby half-sister of the prince who has developed a crush on him. Ash makes enemies of some of the royal household by protecting the prince, and as his second mother lies dying he finds out that he is really english and must go back to his homeland.[return][return]Back in England he is taught to be a proper sahib, although he always feels that the Indians are hard done by. After passing his army exams, he is sent back to India. One of his duties is to escort two princesses to their new palace for their marriage. During the trip he realises that one of the princesses is the one who followed him around as a child, and he is pulled back into the politics and the murderous enemies who stalked him as a child. Against his better (or worse) judgement he leaves Anjuli and Sushila with their new husband, and continues to perform as a Sahib in the English Army.[return][return]Finally he gets word that Anjuli's husband has died and has insisted on Suttee - a practise made illegal by the british, but still practised, where the live brides are placed on the funeral pyre of their husbands and are burned to death. He races back to rescue Anjuli, but cannot rescue Sushila, and has to kill her on the pyre. Then there is a big rush to escape and Ash leaves the army to live with Anjuli in the mountains.… (more)
 
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nordie | 66 other reviews | Oct 14, 2023 |
 
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harishwriter | 66 other reviews | Oct 12, 2023 |

Lists

1970s (1)

Awards

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Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
30
Also by
7
Members
8,254
Popularity
#2,927
Rating
4.1
Reviews
213
ISBNs
328
Languages
15
Favorited
37

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