Black Narcissus (1939) - Rumer Godden

Written by Rumer Godden
Read by Jilly Bond
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Another forgotten classic…. A Virago Modern Classic

High in the Himalayas near Darjeeling, the old mountaintop palace shines like a jewel. When it was the General’s ‘harem’ palace, richly dressed ladies wandered the windswept terraces; at night, music floated out over the villages and gorges. Now, the General’s son has bestowed it on an order of Anglican nuns, the Sisters of Mary.

Well-intentioned yet misguided, the nuns set about taming the gardens and opening a school and dispensary for the villagers. They are dependent on the local English agent of Empire, Mr Dean; but his charm and insolent candor are disconcerting. And the implacable emptiness of the mountain, the ceaseless winds, exact a toll on the Sisters.
When Mr Dean says bluntly, ‘This is no place for a nunnery,’ it is as if he foresees their destiny.

“It is a travesty that this book is not more famous. It’s an amazing book of culture clash, of pride and frailty, and of the powers of religion, history and nature. Plus it’s really gripping as a story…Jilly Bond is a real phenomenon. Each voice was unique and perfectly fit the character. In the narrative parts, she brilliantly expresses the atmosphere that is possibly the main character in the book. …!”

The 1947 film based upon this novel was praised for the cinematography as well as the acting and story. “Black Narcissus is iconically and almost ethereally beautiful. A full-blooded, complex melodrama of the highest order it is truly, madly, hysterically wonderful.”

The title refers to an exotic perfume popular at the time.