Kirjahaku

1896, Bombay. As a prequel to A Patient Obsession, The Fuchsia Sari tells the backstory to Patience's family heritage.At the turn of the twentieth century, Mangal (Frank) grows up an orphan in a Bombay wadi. His mathematical prowess enables him to gain a scholarship to study at Manchester University, England where he encounters prejudice, friendship and eventually love.Maree, a Lancashire lass, working as a milliner's apprentice, one of five daughters, wishes to be a princess. After a chance meeting with Frank and their ensuing relationship she follows him and sets sail to India on her own, away from everything she knew. Once there, they try to make a life for themselves but as a mixed-race couple they are accepted by neither Indian society nor the colonial British.Death, heartbreak and the inability to feel completely at home on either continent follow the couple. Can they overcome racism, overt or hidden, and lead happy fulfilled lives?

When is an infatuation an obsession? What makes a love story? Is it true love or merely the idea of what a relationship should or could be? A Patient Obsession follows the lives of Henry and Patience from their early encounters at the end of World War II when Henry is convalescing in Wales after experiencing traumatic events during his time serving in India. His early return to the terrors of the India/Pakistan partition only serves further to haunt his life and relationships. Time passes from Henry's early fixation on Patience to their separate lives in England and Australia to a long-imagined and wished for meeting in Tuscany. Told partly through memories and correspondence the novel explores the sadness of obsession: when reality does not live up to your dream.ReviewsAn utterly charming story of Henry and Patience, two kindred spirits who form a bond that can cross time and oceans. The connection is captured in their correspondence, from fledgling affection to conflict, frustration, and loneliness. This is a clever epistolary novel teeming with the same wonder and mystery as a box full of scrapbooks and old letters newly discovered. With warmth and joy, Dunton-Rose illuminates a precious human truth: an ordinary life contains remarkable tales. Morgan Bell A beautiful and tender portrayal, reminiscent of John Williams' quiet tragedy, Stoner. Karen Eastwood