Book Extract: The Bookseller of Kathmandu by Ann Bennett

I’m happy to be welcoming Ann Bennett to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on her book, The Bookseller of Kathmandu.

A sweeping tale of secrets and survival set against the mystical backdrop of Nepal, and the tropical heat of 1940s Malaya.

In the heart of bustling Kathmandu, Chloe Rai’s quaint bookshop is a sanctuary for those seeking solace within the pages of timeworn stories. But when she discovers a collection of letters hidden within the crumbling walls of a forgotten Rana palace, her world begins to intertwine with a narrative from a different time and place.

Penned in the 1940s by a woman named Alice Lacey, the letters tell the story of the Malayan Emergency, a time of turmoil and conflict. As Alice’s life becomes intertwined with that of Anil, a Gurkha officer, their bond is tested by the chaos and violence surrounding them. Chloe’s discoveries not only reveal family secrets, but also mirror her own struggles in the present. As she delves deeper into Alice’s story, she begins to understand the power of the past in shaping the present.

With a rich cultural backdrop and a poignant exploration of friendship, resilience, and truth, ‘The Bookseller of Kathmandu’ is a beautifully woven tale that showcases the enduring power of storytelling. Join Chloe on a journey through time as she uncovers the truth and learns to navigate the complexities of her own life.

If you enjoy captivating storytelling, then you won’t want to miss ‘The Bookseller of Kathmandu.’ And if you loved ‘The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu,’ then you will be enthralled by Chloe and Alice’s intertwined stories…

Ann has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

*****beginning of extract*****

Alice Lacey lives with her volatile husband, Bruce, who manages a remote tin mine in Malaya. Communist insurgents have been attacking British property lately and killed a British man. The Gurkhas have been brought in to protect the British community and property. Major Anil Desai arrives to introduce himself to Alice and her husband.

Chapter 4

MAJOR DESAI HAD ARRIVED in an army jeep, unannounced, with a couple of other soldiers. Alice was in the drawing room doing paperwork when he drew up. Surprised to hear an engine, worried the communists might have broken through the security her husband had hastily put in place on the gates, she’d stood behind a curtain and watched as a slender, athletic figure dressed in khaki got out of the jeep and strode across the drive.

The soldier mounted the wooden steps, crossed the veranda and rapped on the door. Her heart raced. They hardly ever had visitors, and they lived so far from other Europeans that a surprise visit was virtually unheard of. So much so that she was certain the servants would be elsewhere and wouldn’t have heard the knock.

She suddenly felt uncomfortable, but she smoothed down her skirt, tucked a stray hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. She crossed the empty hallway and opened the door. The soldier outside had already taken off his cap and stood with it under his arm. When he saw Alice, he gave a little bow.

‘Good morning, madam. Are you the lady of the house?’

‘I am,’ she said. It felt a little awkward admitting to that, even after two years. Alice was only twenty-four and didn’t feel worthy of the title ‘lady of the house’.

‘I’m Major Anil Desai. I’d like to speak with you and your husband, if that’s possible.’

She hesitated. Bruce was down at the mine office, and he didn’t take kindly to being disturbed. But this looked important.

‘Why don’t you come inside? I’ll ask one of the servants to fetch my husband. Please, take a seat…’ She gestured to one of the polished chairs in the hallway that were rarely used. Whoever sat down in a hallway? But she was reluctant to ask the major into the drawing room. It wasn’t the Gurkha she was worried about; it was her husband. She had an inkling he might object to her entertaining a strange man, especially a foreign one, in the drawing room in his absence, even if that man was a soldier who was here on official business.

‘Thank you,’ the major replied and the chair creaked as he sat.

She went along the passage towards the servants’ quarters.

She rarely ventured down there, so to give them fair warning she walked heavily and coughed loudly as she went.

She found Suleman in the kitchen, smoking a bidi and chatting away to Cook who was busy preparing the evening meal. When she asked him to fetch the tuan from the mine office, he looked suspicious.

‘It is most urgent,’ she added. ‘Tell him to come quickly.’

With a shake of his head, Suleman shambled off to do her bidding, and Alice was forced to go back and speak to the major until Bruce arrived.

She returned to the hallway and saw that he was flicking through an old copy of Country Life, which he put down hastily when Alice appeared. He got to his feet and gave a small nod. She noticed he was quite young for his rank, probably around thirty. He was well-built and he had pleasing open features, along with deep-brown eyes that had an arresting honesty about them.

‘That’s a very British magazine,’ he said. ‘It must be a reminder that you are very far from home.’

She laughed. ‘Not me. I was born in India. I went to school in England, but it never felt like home.’

‘How fascinating,’ he said. ‘And which part of India, may I ask?’

‘Barrackpur Cantonment. My father is a colonel in the British Indian Army,’ she said with an involuntary shudder. Just mentioning him revived unwelcome memories.

‘Barrackpur. Near Calcutta. I know it well,’ he replied.

‘I used to love going into the city,’ she said. ‘Now that felt like home to me.’

‘It’s an impressive place,’ he said.

She smiled at the memory of the teeming streets of Calcutta – the aromas, the clamour, the gleaming white buildings – and fell silent again, not really knowing what else to say to the stranger.

He smiled too, then with horror she realised his gaze was resting on her arm where there was a purple bruise just below the elbow. She felt the heat of shame rushing into her cheeks and hastily pulled down the sleeve of her blouse to cover it. He looked away, but she couldn’t help noticing his frown and the slightly bemused expression on his face.

‘My husband won’t be too long,’ she said, now feeling more awkward than ever. Should she invite him into the drawing room anyway and perhaps just leave him there on his own? At least then she’d be able to put some space between them.

****end of extract*****

About Ann Bennett –

Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest, was inspired by researching her father’s experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and by her own journey to uncover his story. It won the Asian Books Blog prize for fiction published in Asia in 2015, and was shortlisted for the best fiction title in the Singapore Book Awards 2016.

That initial inspiration led her to write more books about WWII in Southeast Asia – Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife, A Daughter’s Promise, Bamboo Road: The Homecoming, The Tea Planter’s Club, The Amulet, and The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu. Along with The Lotus House, published in October 2024, they make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.

Ann is also the author of The Oriental Lake Collection – The Lake Pavilion and The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina.

The Runaway Sisters, USA Today bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture. Her latest book, The Stolen Sisters, published on 29th November 2024 is the follow-up to The Orphan List (published by Bookouture in August this year) and is set in Poland and Germany during WWII.

A former lawyer, Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK. For more details, please visit her website www.annbennettauthor

Say hello to Ann via her website, Facebook, X and Instagram.

The Bookseller of Kathmandu is part of the Tales of Kathmandu series. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones, Amazon US and Barnes & Noble. 

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Win a Paperback copy of Fortune Teller of Kathmandu. (Open to UK and Europe only)

Would you like to win a paperback copy of The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu – book one in the Tales of Kathmandu series? Here’s your chance.

All you have to do is click on this link for details on how to enter.

Open to UK and Europe only.

*Terms and Conditions –

UK and Europe entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam link above. 

The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I (Novel Kicks) am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.