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    The India Fan
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    The India Fan
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    The India Fan
    Ebook550 pages7 hours

    The India Fan

    By Victoria Holt

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "A mesmerizing story of blackmail, romance, and deception."—Associated Press

    A parson's daughter, Druscilla Delaney is enthralled by her wealthy, glamorous neighbors—the Framlings—and their handsome son, Fabian. They gift her with a priceless heirloom, a beautiful fan that brings with it a terrible curse.

    Beautiful as its peacock feathers may be, the priceless fan hidden deep in the Framling mansion has a legacy of death and destruction. And Druscilla has no idea she's been marked by its curse.

    But the fan's dark past might prove less of a danger than Fabian Framling himself. Dark, brooding, and dominating, will he be the one to save her from the fan's cruel fate…or cause her demise?

    Including elements of historical romance and romantic suspense, The India Fan is a spellbinding tale from the Queen of Gothic Romance. Fast-paced and gripping, fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, and Daphne Du Maurier will be awestruck by this Victorian gothic thriller complete with romance, murder, and mayhem.

    Other Titles from Victoria Holt

    Pride and the Peacock: To secure her inheritance, Jessica Clavering agrees to a marriage of convenience, but will her handsome new husband's desire for her ever surpass his obsession with a famously cursed opal?

    The Shivering Sands: Caroline Verlaine's sister has gone missing and no one can tell her why. The only option is to go where Roma was last seen—an estate with a deadly history.

    The Time of the Hunter's Moon: According to legend, a girl will see her future husband at the time of the hunter's moon. But when the handsome stranger revealed to Cordelia Grant disappears after an all-too-brief encounter, she has to wonder: Was he merely an apparition...or something more?

    What readers are saying about The India Fan

    "The India Fan was beautiful. It was long and complex and draining. It was gripping."

    "Once you start, you can't put it down."

    "A knock-out novel of mysticism and murder…"

    "This book brings memories!!! I read it when I was in high school and it remains one of my favorite books to read."

    What reviewers are saying about The India Fan

    "…romance, curses, dark secrets, and a Gothic tale of epic proportions"—My Book Addiction and More

    "…an absolutely engrossing read. The story-telling is excellent and I found the historical background fascinating."—Romantic Historical Lovers

    "Enthralling."—The New York Times Book Review

    "Fresh and steadily compelling."—Kirkus

    "Readers will savor this sweeping coming-of-age tale"—Publishers Weekly

    "The India Fan is one of those epic stories that you can completely immerse yourself in and it will stay in your memory for years."—Great Historicals

    What everyone is saying about the Queen of Gothic Romance Victoria Holt

    "Victoria Holt's writing is captivating"—Bookfoolery

    "She spins history with romance and intrigue and always leaves me wanting more."

    "Holt's stories are spell binding....page turners."

    "I love her books! I have read all of them again and again. She is a wonderful storyteller."

    "One of the supreme writers of gothic romance, a compelling storyteller whose gripping novels have thrilled millions."—RT Book Reviews

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateMar 5, 2013
    ISBN9781402277443
    Unavailable
    The India Fan
    Author

    Victoria Holt

    Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert (1906–1993), better known to readers as Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, and Jean Plaidy, was one of the world’s most beloved and enduring authors. Her career spanned five decades, and she was heralded as the “Queen of Romantic Suspense.” She continued to write historical fiction under the name of Jean Plaidy and romantic suspense as Victoria Holt until the time of her death.

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    Reviews for The India Fan

    3.5/5

    99 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I thought early on that “The India Fan” was going to be one of Victoria Holt’s better novels, as I really enjoyed the main characters’ childhood days; however, as they grow up, I grew less engaged with the story.The narrative is slow, with little of the suspense featured in a typical Holt novel, and crucial events are largely predictable. At times, it’s quite boring.As usual with this author, there’s too much *telling*, as opposed to *showing*. Many times in this book the reader is told what happened, when the author could’ve dramatized scenes to show what happened.I consider Lavinia to be the best-drawn character. She’s vivid and believable. I also liked the heroine of the piece, but in general, not many of the cast are memorable characters.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed the first half of this novel - it was very girl meets house gothic - but came unstuck when the action moved to India. I enjoyed the set up with the narrator having been kidnapped by the local lordling as a child, and the dynamic they had as a result. Drusilla's life and family in England were well realised and rounded, and her role as a companion rang true for the era. The maiden aunt with the peacock fan didn't seem very relevant, but added to the gothic overtures.I had been looking forward to the India section, but was disappointed almost as soon as the characters got there. I got the impression the narrative was trying to suggest that even Drusilla's acceptance of Imperialism was not a good thing, let alone those characters actively involved with the East India Company, but the plot did nothing to back this up. By portraying the Indian characters as either good submissive servants (so submissive many didn't even get names) or arrogant sexual predators, thuggees who wanted to force women into suttee, the Indian Rebellion was reduced to a group of people who wanted to right to burn widows back. It was deeply uncomfortable reading, and left me with very little sympathy for any of the English characters. By the time the plot returned to England I didn't really care how to romance ended up. The fan as a motif only turned up sporadically, and it never felt like it had more than a glancing impact on the plot (Drusilla's life prior to going to India seems more blessed than cursed). Having had this book come so highly recommended, I was more disappointed than I might have been had I come in blind, but a lot of that also came from enjoying the first half so much that the racist elements of the second completely blindsided me.
    • 5/5
      I want to start by saying that I really liked this book. I give it 5/5 stars. This is not a new book either, but a 1998 book re-leased with a new cover for 2013. I love the cover!!! I have not read any of Victoria Holt’s Books (or so I thought-see note at the end). I thought that they were sappy romance novels, but that is not the case. This book like the one above I think has a wide reading appeal. There are secrets, lies, deception, blackmail, a double-crossing, a double suicide, a wealthy estate, arson, obsession, children out-of-wedlock, a manipulative matriarch, and the crazy Miss Lucille locked up in her rooms. Don’t forget the curse of the peacock feather fan. Wow this book packs a lot into one package. There is also the exotic trip to India and the introduction of the basics of Indian culture. Oh, yes there is a subtle romance thread throughout. How can the Drusilla the daughter of the rector, compete with the wealthy, spoiled Lavinia Framling? Who will Drusilla chose for her husband? Sir Fabian Framling the heir to the Framling fortune who is a rogue and ladies man? Dougal Carruthers whose interest in architecture has led him to the rectory? Or will it be the newly arrived Colin Brady who has come to assist her father and hopes to take over the rectory? Who does she dare to lose her heart to? Will her strange friendship with Lavinia Framling survive? If you are considering adding this book to your list of to read books, don’t think about it, read it now!!! I think you will enjoy it. I have to say that I am partial to all and anything Indian including Indian food, Indian stories, I took a class about India once. I had to note that I just found out that Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr and Jean Plaidy are all the same person!!! Who knew!! It is Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert. Well I have definitely read many of the Jean Plaidy books, probably some of the Philippa Carr ones too!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      There are few books as satisfying as a novel by Victoria Holt or Jean Plaidy. The India Fan is one of those epic stories that you can completely immerse yourself in and it will stay in your memory for years. Victoria Holt definitely knows how to pen a fascinating yarn, and The India Fan proves it.The main character, Drusilla Delany, is a pastor’s daughter. She possesses a great deal of common sense and pragmatism. The wealthy Framling family lives on a nearby estate. Drusilla becomes playmate to the Framling children, Fabian and Lavinia. An old aunt lives a secluded life in an upper bedroom in the stately manor. During child’s play, Drusilla finds herself with a beautiful, peacock-feathered India fan that belongs to the aunt. It is then that she learns of the fan’s deadly curse. As the years go by, Drusilla finds herself drawn deeply into the lives of the Framling siblings, especially Lavinia who is self-serving, self-indulgent, with a tendance to seek pleasure from her wealth and beauty. Lavinia’s actions and choices strongly affect the ever-sensible Drusilla, drawing her nearer to Fabian, both as friend and nemesis. The storyline twists and turns into several different subplots. Victoria Holt writes with such vivid detail and clarity, that the book plays more like a movie than the written word. Her elegant prose evokes emotion with every turn of the page. The storyline is incredibly full and touches on themes such as social class, love, forgiveness, duty, poverty, and loss as it sweeps the reader from the elegance of England into the exotic wilds of India. If you’ve never read a Victoria Holt novel before, then you must start with this one. It’s unputdownable.