The Pavilion in the Clouds

Alexander McCall Smith

From Shelf: Alexander McCall Smith: Other Novels

A brand new stand-alone novel from Alexander McCall Smith, The Pavilion in the Clouds is a beautifully evocative story, set mostly in 1930s Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). This atmospheric novel, set in the pre- and post-war years in both Ceylon and Scotland poses the question of what it is to be home.

It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry - owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation - and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White's intentions. Her suspicion sparks off her mother's imagination and after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation is had with Miss White and a gunshot rings off around the hills.

Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St Andrews, is faced, once again with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her Father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long over-due apology?