Mariana Givens is in Afghanistan in 1841. She longs to return to Lahore, the home of Hassan Ali Khan, the man she loves and is still married to. Now she's exiled to the British cantonment in Kabul, where she faces family pressure to forget her estranged Indian Muslim husband and marry the British officer Lieutenant Harry Fitzgerald. She must know if Hassan still loves her, so she sends a message to him in hopes of hearing a reply soon.
Mariana is filled with much indecision. She's been having some very vivid dreams and visions. And Fitzgerald has asked for her hand in marriage. Without word from Hassan, she seeks guidance from a mystic in Kabul. He gives her a durood to recite everyday for several days that will hopefully provide the answers she needs to make that very important decision.
Meanwhile, the British occupation has angered the Afghan tribal chiefs. When they joined forces with the son of the deposed Afghan king and besieged the British cantonment, Mariana put herself at risk and asked for panah (asylum) for herself and her family so they can make it safely back to India. What will her family think of her actions? Did Hassan receive her message and will his answer be the one she wants to hear? How will she respond to Fitzgerald? After all, she's already hurt him once and he's been a very patient and honorable man.
COMPANIONS OF PARADISE by Thalassa Ali is the conclusion to the Mariana Givens adventure series. It started with A SINGULAR HOSTAGE and continued with A BEGGAR AT THE GATE. Having not read the first two installments left me feeling lost at times. I relied heavily on the glossary at the back of the book and the author's own expertise. The geographical and character details are excellent. It's a moving story with so much fighting and inner turmoil for everyone. Discovering who Mariana will spend the rest of her life with does not happen until the end, and believe me, it is well-worth finding out how it all comes together.
In A Singular Hostage and A Beggar at the Gate, Thalassa
Ali introduced us to the lush, intriguing world of
nineteenth-century British India - and to Mariana Givens, a
brave, beautiful Englishwoman. Now, as vengeful Afghan
tribesmen close in, Mariana must face the repercussions of
her marriage to a Punjabi Muslim, and choose between the
people she calls her own - and the life that owns her heart.
Mariana Givens aches to return to the rose-scented city of
Lahore, home of Hassan Ali Khan, the Muslim stranger she
has come to love, his mystical family, and his prescient
little son. But her own reckless behavior has sent her into
exile at the British cantonment near Kabul, on the eve of
the First Afghan War. There, she embarks on a dangerous
double life, pretending to be a proper young Victorian lady
while secretly traveling Kabul's violent, fascinating
streets to visit the Sufi seer who possesses the answers
she needs.
But the mystic's help comes with a price, and her family
wants her to marry a British officer. As Afghanistan
descends into violence and her hopes of rescue fade,
Mariana must make a fateful decision: can she abandon her
old life and allow herself to be drawn toward her destiny -
whatever it may be?
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