The Scarlet Sword

Description

H.E. Bates’ fourth novel about World War II was preceded by Fair Stood the Wind for France, The Purple Plain and The Jacaranda Tree, the latter two also being about Asia. It is a fictional telling of the sacking of St. Joseph’s Convent in Baramulla, Kashmir by pro-Pakistan Afridi and Pathan tribal soldiers in late October 1947. The novel features a large number of characters, including two priests, a journalist, a Hindu dancing girl, a retired Colonel and his wife, a young Englishwoman and her mother, a nurse, tribal soldiers, and various other religious, medical, and military persons. This is the first edition, published by Michael Joseph in 1950, and is in very good condition.