9780312428594

0312428596

First book in the Ibis trilogy.

"At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak if the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners onboard, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a freespirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, the exotic backstreets of Canton. With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, Sea of Poppies is 'a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott' (Vogue)."-- Provided by publisher.

Schooners > Fiction.

Voyages and travels > Fiction.

Sailors > Fiction.

Social classes > India > Fiction.

Opium trade > History > Fiction.

India > Social conditions > 19th century > Fiction.

Historical fiction.

Fiction.

History.

Novels.