Why a Booktrail?
1930s: The third in the Inspector de Silva Mysteries
Offstage in Nuala
What you need to know before your trail
There’s great excitement when a professional theatre company comes to Nuala. However matters take a dark turn when the company’s actor manager is murdered. Inspector de Silva has a new case to solve and he has to consider some very unpalatable motives for the crime. He will need all his persistence, coupled with his wife, Jane’s, invaluable help to unmask the villain of the piece.
Travel Guide
1930s Ceylon
The series of novels by Harriet Steel nicely capture the time and place of the country – ruled by the British but with a nice melting pot of cultures, ideas and way of life.
The time of British rule in Ceylon:
“Many didn’t bother to understand what a melting pot his country was. First the Sinhalese, his own people – the true and original owners of Ceylon – then the Tamils, either coming in over the centuries in waves of invasion from South India or brought to Ceylon more recently by the British to pick the tea.”
De Silva’s wife is British and this makes for a nice cultural mix in the books:
“Wherever the British went, de Silva mused, they had the knack of recreating a little corner of England. One day, they would leave and give Ceylon back to her people but, for the moment, the tendency had a certain charm.”
The English have firmly implanted themselves in the country and so much so that the language and culture are evident in the every day detail, nicely evoked by the novels.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Offstage in Nuala
Destination : Sri Lanka, Nuwara Eliya, Nuwara Eliya, Nuala (Ceylon) Author/Guide: Harriet Steel Departure Time:1930s
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