''Heat and Dust'' (1975) is a novel by

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (; 7 May 19273 April 2013) was a British author and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. In 1951, Jhabvala ma ...

that won the Booker Prize in 1975. The book was also ranked by ''The Telegraph'' in 2014 as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels.

Plot summary

The initial stages of the novel are told in the first person, from the narrative voice of a woman who travels to India, to find out more about her step-grandmother, Olivia. She has various letters written by Olivia, and through reading these, and learning from her own experiences in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, she uncovers the truth about Olivia and her life during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in the 1920s. Through the use of flashbacks, the reader experiences the story from Olivia's point of view. We discover that Olivia, although at first glance she seems simply to be a proper Englishwoman, is actually smothered by British social restrictions, and longs for excitement. She meets the Nawab, who instantly charms her, and gradually lets her into his life. Olivia is drawn to the charm and charisma of the Nawab, and he slowly gains control over her, as he does with other characters such as Harry. Harry is portrayed as weak due to his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and inability to withstand the Indian climate and food. Olivia eventually becomes pregnant with the Nawab's baby, and out of fear decides to abort the child. This causes scandal in the town of Satipur. She then resides in an unnamed town ("Town X") for her remaining years. The novel ends with the present-day narrator (whose name is not mentioned) also becoming pregnant, deciding to spend her years in Town X, just as Olivia did.

Awards

*1975: Booker Prize

Film

The novel was made into a film of the same name in 1983 by

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

. It was an award-winning film, with a screenplay by

based upon her novel, directed by

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with scree ...

and produced by

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Direct ...

References

External links

Summary from Merchant Ivory websiteBooker Prize Winners
Booker Prize-winning works 1975 British novels British historical novels British novels adapted into films Films scored by Nishat Khan Harper & Row books John Murray (publishing house) books Novels set in India Novels set in the 1920s Postcolonial novels {{postcolonialism-stub