Smoke and Ashes: Wyndham and Banerjee Book 3 (Wyndham and Banerjee series)

Product Information

You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Smoke and Ashes is Abir Mukherjee’s best book yet; a brilliantly conceived murder mystery set amidst political and social turmoil. Beautifully crafted." C. J. SansomSmoke and Ashes is Abir Mukherjee's best book yet; a brilliantly conceived murder mystery set amidst political and social turmoil - beautifully crafted' C.J. Sansom This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.

Smoke and Ashes is Abir Mukherjee's best book yet; a brilliantly conceived murder mystery set amidst political and social turmoil – beautifully crafted. CJ Sansom It is the flamboyant evocation of 1920s Calcutta that makes this such a mesmerising read. The GuardianYou may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. India, 1921. Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. Described as a “travelogue, memoir, and an excursion into history”, the book traces the effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China. In India, the book examines the impact this had particularly on Kolkata and Mumbai. Opium is such an important part of our economic history, but has almost been erased from our understanding of the world. It has left permanent marks on eastern and western India, in a very significant sense,” the author said on Thursday at the launch of his new book Smoke and Ashes: A writer’s journey through Opium’s hidden histories. He was in conversation with singer and activist T.M. Krishna. So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.

Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, a memoir and an excursion into history, both economic and cultural. A phenomenal historical mystery. Thrilling and evocative, darkly funny and surprisingly touching. It’s so deeply rooted in place and history that you may want to read it while under a mosquito net, but Mukherjee’s prose is so sharp that the setting feels immediate and vital. I can’t imagine how Mukherjee will top Smoke and Ashes, but I can’t wait to see what he comes up with." Criminal ElementBut Wyndham finds himself in a tight spot when he stumbles across a corpse in an opium den. When he then comes across a second body bearing the same injuries, Wyndham is convinced that there's a deranged killer on the loose. Ghosh, however, is careful to assure us that his vision of the future isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, he is certain that this tragic history is a rallying cry for the climate activists of today. For one, it shows us that plants can have agency too, more powerful than we can comprehend. And, of course, it serves as a reminder that throughout history, even in the darkest of times, humanity has banded together to make amazing change for the better. “In the late 19th century, a huge anti-opium movement came together internationally and they were able to impose certain constraints on these massive European empires, which were actually more powerful than energy corporations are today,” he shares. “I think we can take some hope from that. That’s ultimately what being human is about—to recognise that you have a duty to keep on trying.” Also read: Curated markets data, exclusive trading recommendations, Independent equity analysis & actionable investment ideas

Responding to Mr. Krishna, who asked him about the impact opium production and trade had over the years, Mr. Ghosh said that many economic historians had noted that the huge disparity in social indicators in districts that were producing opium and those that were not, lasts to this day. AMITAV GHOSH was born in Calcutta, and grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; he studied in Delhi, Oxford and Alexandria. He is the author of several acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, the Ibis Trilogy (comprising the novels Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke and Flood of Fire), Gun Island, The Great Derangement, The Nutmeg’s Curse, Jungle Nama and The Living Mountain.For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.