This novel was slower than I anticipated so I had a hard time getting into the story. I did end up liking it--but not loving it. Some of the switches from past to present were confusing but I did enjoy the different locales and the history of those places. Obviously a well-written and well-researched novel...just not my cup of tea.

The story was very interesting. I just found that it got confusing in some places, especially where it just switched to the past, because the grandfather's name is also Stephen, and boring in others when the fixations on the descriptions were so long. But other than that, it was nice to read.

A beautiful and well written novel with a well reaserched historical background.
The plot was moving and engaging, the characters well written and I loved the style of writing.
A bit slow at part it takes a bit to get going.
Recommended!
Many thanks to John Hunt and Netgalley for this ARC

The plot is very slowly moving due to descriptive text. As a result, I was not able to finish reading this book.

Thank you John Hunt Publishing for the eARC.
A beautifully written historical novel that takes place in Scotland in 1999 and Calcutta, India from 1923- 46.  
In Edinburgh Stephen meets Julia and falls head over heels.  He has to win her over by telling a story, but when his half-Indian, half-Scottish mother dies and he doesn't invite Julia to her funeral, Julia pulls back.  
He has inherited boxes containing his grandfather's papers and drawings and he and his flatmate, Seamus, decide to co-write a movie script based on his grandfather's life in Dundee and Calcutta.
What a story this is!  So evocative, thrilling and quirky, I absolutely loved it.  The history of the Raj and the jute trade, both in Scotland and India, make for fascinating reading.  The secrets that come out of his research and writing were shocking and sad, but the ending was excellent, very satisfactory.  I liked all the characters; Seamus in particular is appealing and got me chuckling quite a bit.  A must read that deserves to be a big hit.