The Return

by Diane Haeger

Her heart pounding with fear and longing, Charlotte Langston set sail from India for England, the homeland she had not seen for so many years…desperate to find the man whose love had once made her life a paradise…How well she remembered the day they met, when, pistol drawn, she’d charged into the private garden of Delhi’s commander-in-chief and challenged the soldiers who were trespassing there. Captain Edward Langston had been handsome, strong, and, despite his part in the day’s mischief, possessed of a confidence that was instantly compelling. Only sixteen, Charlotte had been innocent enough to ignore her maidservant’s dark foreboding, headstrong enough to defy her old-fashioned father and marry a man he considered an ambitious, arrogant upstart. Honeymooning in the shadow of the Taj Mahal, Charlotte had glowed with incandescent love. But barely two months later, her happiness had been shattered by a bloody native uprising that left her widowed and in despair.

Now, ten years later, Charlotte was leaving the heat and dust of India to embark upon a new, uncertain future…to find the beloved husband who, she had just discovered, was miraculously still alive…

421 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Diane Haeger is the bestselling author of fifteen published novels, including Courtesan, The Ruby Ring and My Dearest Cecilia. Her work, to date, has been translated into 18 different languages and has been featured in the LA Times and Harper's Bazaar Magazine. She loves telling real stories from history. She lives in California with her husband and family.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I try not to write summaries of the books because well that's what Amazon and the authors do, I write my feelings about said book or item.

I love Diane Haeger and her writing so as soon as I read one of her books and fell in love, I bought all of her books. Out of all of her books this one is my least favorite. It's not bad but it's not a book I would recommend to her first time readers. While her writing brings you into the sights, sounds, smells, and politics of India and England it feels like something is missing. Not love, as that is evident enough but something. I guess I didn't connect to the characters as much in this book as I did her others. Do these people really belong together? Do the people they claim to love deserve their less than best? Would a woman of Charlotte's character and strength allow things that happen later in the book happen?

This book didn't have me rooting for characters as much I usually do and that's why I gave it three stars. Again, a good book but not her greatest.