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Beyond All Frontiers
Set in India at the time of the Raj, Beyond All Frontiers is a mesmerizing historical novel that seems to sum up an entire era through the lives of its characters. The story of a resourceful, courageous woman, Charlotte Scott, it is also the story of Britain's first war with Afghanistan, which ended with a brutal massacre in the Khyber Pass. And it is a novel about the Empire: how the British gained it - and why they would lose it at last.
Returning to India in 1837 after a sheltered childhood in England, seventeen year old Charlotte Scott finds not a loving mother but a cold, beautiful woman dismayed because her plain daughter cares more for politics and good works than for husband-hunting and frivolity. Charlotte finds her intelligence and sensitivity have no place in the peculiar world of the British army station, where full-dress balls and cricket matches are held amid Indian dust, heat, and sqaulor. Only one person truly befriends her: the athletic, handsome, unpretentious Richard Lingarde, considered the most eligible bachelor on the station. An engineer and speaker of native tongues, Richard knows what his fellow officers choose to ignore: the natives, both Indian and Afghan, despise the British and will defeat them in the end.
Although bewitched by her mother's exotic cavalier, Major Dpres, Charlotte agrees to marry Richard - and soon alienates him unforgiveably. Richard is sent to war-torn Kabul, where he embarks upon a life of danger and depravity. As Charlotte sets out on a treacherous journey through the Khyber Pass to find him, she begins to grow from a naive young girl into a woman of valor.
A love story of extraordinary depth and power, Beyond All Frontiers is a masterful combination of history, courage, surprise, and passion - a novel that makes us hope desperately to see the hero and heroine learn to care for each other as much as we care for them.
Returning to India in 1837 after a sheltered childhood in England, seventeen year old Charlotte Scott finds not a loving mother but a cold, beautiful woman dismayed because her plain daughter cares more for politics and good works than for husband-hunting and frivolity. Charlotte finds her intelligence and sensitivity have no place in the peculiar world of the British army station, where full-dress balls and cricket matches are held amid Indian dust, heat, and sqaulor. Only one person truly befriends her: the athletic, handsome, unpretentious Richard Lingarde, considered the most eligible bachelor on the station. An engineer and speaker of native tongues, Richard knows what his fellow officers choose to ignore: the natives, both Indian and Afghan, despise the British and will defeat them in the end.
Although bewitched by her mother's exotic cavalier, Major Dpres, Charlotte agrees to marry Richard - and soon alienates him unforgiveably. Richard is sent to war-torn Kabul, where he embarks upon a life of danger and depravity. As Charlotte sets out on a treacherous journey through the Khyber Pass to find him, she begins to grow from a naive young girl into a woman of valor.
A love story of extraordinary depth and power, Beyond All Frontiers is a masterful combination of history, courage, surprise, and passion - a novel that makes us hope desperately to see the hero and heroine learn to care for each other as much as we care for them.
472 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
14 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Emma Drummond
24 books15 followersA pseudonym used by Edna Dawes.
Drummond was born in a Military Hospital, as her father was a member of the British Army. She spent her early childhood in Hong Kong, where her father was stationed. She eventually married a senior British Civil Servant. She worked for a time as a WRAC (Womens Royal Army Corps). She also writes as Elizabeth Darrell, Eve Dane, Edna Dawes, and Eleanor Drew.
Drummond was born in a Military Hospital, as her father was a member of the British Army. She spent her early childhood in Hong Kong, where her father was stationed. She eventually married a senior British Civil Servant. She worked for a time as a WRAC (Womens Royal Army Corps). She also writes as Elizabeth Darrell, Eve Dane, Edna Dawes, and Eleanor Drew.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 19, 2016
4.5 stars. Loved it and a must for MM Kaye junkies looking for another India fix.
"Our sepoys are trained to behave like English soldiers, but the blood of India runs through their veins, and the history of past centuries shapes their actions when feelings run high. Fools forget that."
Yes, they do. Charlotte Scott is summoned to join her parents in India with the express purpose of putting her on the marriage market. A bit on the mousy side, Charlotte is very different from her mother (a renowned beauty and socialite), and has been over educated by the spinster aunt who raised her - she would rather talk politics with her father and volunteer at the soldier's hospital than wear pretty dresses and go to balls. Surprisingly, Charlotte's intelligence and spirit capture the attention of the most wanted bachelor in India, Richard Lingarde, but she's still mooning over adventurer Colley Dupres - although he carries a secret that shatters her comfortable world and sends her running for the safety of Richard's arms.
"...but the lowly peasant who drives the camels and cuts grass for the horses has no such sworn bond. He does it in order to live. When his livelihood is threatened is he a traitor to wish to join his own countrymen?"
Uncomfortable with the tensions between the Brits and the natives, Richard had hoped to resign his commission and return home, but his courtship of Charlotte delayed him long enough that he's forced to stay with his outfit as they march north to install a ruler in Afghanistan sympathetic to the East India Company - although the Afghans are perfectly happy with the ruler they have. The women travel part of the way with them and on the way something very very bad happens that shatters Richard's illusions and set him on a dark path of self-destruction. Despite being most definitely not wanted by her husband (no spoilers, that's on the jacket), Charlotte joins the other wives when Kabul is deemed safe for women and children by the idiots officials in charge, although Afghanistan is still seething with treachery and revolt.
I absolutely loved this book and frankly couldn't put it down (glad I had a rainy Saturday without much else to do). Drummond does a good job showing us the social mores and customs of 19C British society, as well as the Afghan *situation* - the retreat from Kabul through the Khyber pass in the full grip of winter was terrifying and will have you on pins and needles until the very end. Highly recommended for those who can't get enough of India and the British Raj, and there are more Emma Drummond books in my immediate reading future.
"Our sepoys are trained to behave like English soldiers, but the blood of India runs through their veins, and the history of past centuries shapes their actions when feelings run high. Fools forget that."
Yes, they do. Charlotte Scott is summoned to join her parents in India with the express purpose of putting her on the marriage market. A bit on the mousy side, Charlotte is very different from her mother (a renowned beauty and socialite), and has been over educated by the spinster aunt who raised her - she would rather talk politics with her father and volunteer at the soldier's hospital than wear pretty dresses and go to balls. Surprisingly, Charlotte's intelligence and spirit capture the attention of the most wanted bachelor in India, Richard Lingarde, but she's still mooning over adventurer Colley Dupres - although he carries a secret that shatters her comfortable world and sends her running for the safety of Richard's arms.
"...but the lowly peasant who drives the camels and cuts grass for the horses has no such sworn bond. He does it in order to live. When his livelihood is threatened is he a traitor to wish to join his own countrymen?"
Uncomfortable with the tensions between the Brits and the natives, Richard had hoped to resign his commission and return home, but his courtship of Charlotte delayed him long enough that he's forced to stay with his outfit as they march north to install a ruler in Afghanistan sympathetic to the East India Company - although the Afghans are perfectly happy with the ruler they have. The women travel part of the way with them and on the way something very very bad happens that shatters Richard's illusions and set him on a dark path of self-destruction. Despite being most definitely not wanted by her husband (no spoilers, that's on the jacket), Charlotte joins the other wives when Kabul is deemed safe for women and children by the idiots officials in charge, although Afghanistan is still seething with treachery and revolt.
I absolutely loved this book and frankly couldn't put it down (glad I had a rainy Saturday without much else to do). Drummond does a good job showing us the social mores and customs of 19C British society, as well as the Afghan *situation* - the retreat from Kabul through the Khyber pass in the full grip of winter was terrifying and will have you on pins and needles until the very end. Highly recommended for those who can't get enough of India and the British Raj, and there are more Emma Drummond books in my immediate reading future.
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January 6, 2017So the basic storyline of this is five stars, reminiscent of The Far Pavilions. But there was a lot here that disturbed me and ultimately I couldn't enjoy this as I would have liked to for these reasons.
It started as five stars. Yes! Just what I'm looking for. Good characterization, good plot etc. It's going to be a forever favorite.
Not so fast.
The soul satisfying character connections degenerates into physical lust very shortly and when this happens it seems like everything else is forgotten, the heart to heart. It's all bodily attraction and "needs", brain not necessary. I really dislike this.
There is also adultery which at first is disapproved of but then, you know, who can help it, needs must and all that.
But what probably disturbs me the most here is the violence, it seems gratuitous. In MM Kayes books, yes, there's violence and mutinies. But she doesn't make us wallow in it for page after page after page. I ended up skimming by the end because I just couldn't take it any more.
So five stars went to four stars which means "I will reread it", to three stars "probably won't reread it, but enjoyed it" to... Well I'm not enjoying this, I won't reread it, but the storyteller deserves more than two stars. What do I do?
So I'm not going to rate this.
It started as five stars. Yes! Just what I'm looking for. Good characterization, good plot etc. It's going to be a forever favorite.
Not so fast.
The soul satisfying character connections degenerates into physical lust very shortly and when this happens it seems like everything else is forgotten, the heart to heart. It's all bodily attraction and "needs", brain not necessary. I really dislike this.
There is also adultery which at first is disapproved of but then, you know, who can help it, needs must and all that.
But what probably disturbs me the most here is the violence, it seems gratuitous. In MM Kayes books, yes, there's violence and mutinies. But she doesn't make us wallow in it for page after page after page. I ended up skimming by the end because I just couldn't take it any more.
So five stars went to four stars which means "I will reread it", to three stars "probably won't reread it, but enjoyed it" to... Well I'm not enjoying this, I won't reread it, but the storyteller deserves more than two stars. What do I do?
So I'm not going to rate this.
October 13, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2025
A novel steeped in history—both large and small. I learned a lot, and filled in the rest from other sources.
Complex, fascinating, and coherent characters. Sometimes you can forget that a talented writer can create characters who remain true to themselves, even when circumstances force them to adapt or change.
A love story that had something original about it. Several times, I held my breath.
And the title... he travelled beyond all frontiers of love and pain to reach the pinnacles of existence before it was taken from him forever
Complex, fascinating, and coherent characters. Sometimes you can forget that a talented writer can create characters who remain true to themselves, even when circumstances force them to adapt or change.
A love story that had something original about it. Several times, I held my breath.
And the title... he travelled beyond all frontiers of love and pain to reach the pinnacles of existence before it was taken from him forever
March 5, 2014
As Victoria ascends the throne in England, so another young woman is also preparing for a big change in her life. Raised by a spinster aunt, Charlotte is thrilled to finally be summoned by her parents to join them in India. Expecting a loving reunion, she instead finds a stern father with no time for a daughter and a glamorous mother interested only in appearances and parties. Educated and inexperienced, Charlotte finds herself ridiculed by the other young women, whose only aims in life are pretty dresses and dashing suitors.
Dazzled but humiliated by Major Colley Dupres, her mother's exotic lover, a desperate Charlotte turns to the only friend she has, Lieutenant Richard Lingarde, a man she regards as a brother but who secretly loves her. Weeks after their marriage, the British army are called upon to wrestle Afghanistan from the Russians, and on the eve of their departure, a devastating discovery drives a bitter wedge between Charlotte and Richard, with him riding out to war a broken man.
The journey to Afghanistan is brutal, with the troops fighting exhaustion, heat and knife wielding bandits, in order to fulfil a command that is doomed to failure. In retreat three years later, the remaining soldiers are subjected to a freezing winter of starvation, siege and massacre in the Khyber Pass, one of the British army's most resounding defeats.
Amongst all this, Charlotte realises too late what she's lost and sets out with the other wives determined to win back the forgiveness and love of her husband who has followed a dark path of destruction ever since that fateful night, and who will go through hell rather than see her again.
As ever, Emma Drummond serves up a compelling tale of love and war, of a brooding and broken hero (yum), of a girl who becomes a woman. Not quite as good as Scarlet Shadows and Forget The Glory, but still an excellent read.
Dazzled but humiliated by Major Colley Dupres, her mother's exotic lover, a desperate Charlotte turns to the only friend she has, Lieutenant Richard Lingarde, a man she regards as a brother but who secretly loves her. Weeks after their marriage, the British army are called upon to wrestle Afghanistan from the Russians, and on the eve of their departure, a devastating discovery drives a bitter wedge between Charlotte and Richard, with him riding out to war a broken man.
The journey to Afghanistan is brutal, with the troops fighting exhaustion, heat and knife wielding bandits, in order to fulfil a command that is doomed to failure. In retreat three years later, the remaining soldiers are subjected to a freezing winter of starvation, siege and massacre in the Khyber Pass, one of the British army's most resounding defeats.
Amongst all this, Charlotte realises too late what she's lost and sets out with the other wives determined to win back the forgiveness and love of her husband who has followed a dark path of destruction ever since that fateful night, and who will go through hell rather than see her again.
As ever, Emma Drummond serves up a compelling tale of love and war, of a brooding and broken hero (yum), of a girl who becomes a woman. Not quite as good as Scarlet Shadows and Forget The Glory, but still an excellent read.
June 10, 2012
Nor look thee ‘ere beyond this kingdom
Beyond all frontiers of love an pain.
For thine eyes will tire and see no more
The truth. It will blind thee.
Anon
What a splendid and magnificent book written by Emma Drummond.
This is the story of Charlotte Scott and Richard Lingarde.
Charlotte returned to India in 1837 after her childhood spent in England. She is fascinated by the enchanting charm of Richard, an engineer of the British army. Charlotte and Richard marriage suffers some turmoil periods putting their love in a challenge for their own lives.
Richard is a close friend of Charlotte's brother and this friendship will keep them alive especially during the massacre in the Khyber Pass, which is related to the first British occupation of Afghanistan also known as The Battle of Kabul in 1842.
Page 13:
“I have been in India since 1824 – ten years, and it seems like my whole lifetime. The mystique of this dammed civilization eats into a man until he loses all sense of time and his own identity.”
Page 14:
“The East is no place for men from the West unless they are prepared to surrender, not only their lives, but their souls.”
“We have not conquered this country. It is the reverse, you know. Beneath the riches and glory, it is the reverse.”
My only criticism to the plot is that the author should perhaps keep the first ending to the story since certainly all readers will survive to the faith of the main characters.
Since the author comes from a British military family, she shows all her skills in this military historical novel.
Thanks Misfit for recommending this fabulous book, I really appreciated this great reading.
Beyond all frontiers of love an pain.
For thine eyes will tire and see no more
The truth. It will blind thee.
Anon
What a splendid and magnificent book written by Emma Drummond.
This is the story of Charlotte Scott and Richard Lingarde.
Charlotte returned to India in 1837 after her childhood spent in England. She is fascinated by the enchanting charm of Richard, an engineer of the British army. Charlotte and Richard marriage suffers some turmoil periods putting their love in a challenge for their own lives.
Richard is a close friend of Charlotte's brother and this friendship will keep them alive especially during the massacre in the Khyber Pass, which is related to the first British occupation of Afghanistan also known as The Battle of Kabul in 1842.
Page 13:
“I have been in India since 1824 – ten years, and it seems like my whole lifetime. The mystique of this dammed civilization eats into a man until he loses all sense of time and his own identity.”
Page 14:
“The East is no place for men from the West unless they are prepared to surrender, not only their lives, but their souls.”
“We have not conquered this country. It is the reverse, you know. Beneath the riches and glory, it is the reverse.”
My only criticism to the plot is that the author should perhaps keep the first ending to the story since certainly all readers will survive to the faith of the main characters.
Since the author comes from a British military family, she shows all her skills in this military historical novel.
Thanks Misfit for recommending this fabulous book, I really appreciated this great reading.
August 12, 2013
According to the many amazing and hilarious reviewers I follow on GR, gigantic epic romances where the hero and heroine spend less than 1/3 of their time in each other's presence was a biiiiiiiig thing in the '80s, but this is my first one.
First, the good:
Drummond clearly has a good handle on military life, British history, and history of colonialism. She also subverts or inverts many common tropes, including the "heroes are defined by what they do, heroines are defined by what they endure," and shows unusual understanding that people don't tend to be thrilled being bossed around by their colonial overlords and expecting them to be "loyal" to a country they don't actually care about and actually wish would go away and let them run their own damn country is naive and stupid. So I really appreciated that.
The cringy:
That said, she still falls into a couple tropes that made me cringe and frankly, I cannot excuse because of "when it was written" because 1983 is too damn late. The first issue I had was with Luana. Poor Luana. We never get to know anything about her. For all of Drummond's really insightful writing about Indian MEN, Luana is still never seen or used as anything other than a plot point. Her devotion to Richard is never explained -- is she genuinely in love with him? Does she stay with him because of financial stability? How does she feel about him getting married? WHO KNOWS? She's not a REAL person, she's a bibbe, who is conveniently gotten rid of once her usefulness to the plot is over (more on this later.)
Which brings me to the bigger issue: the trope as middle easterners as part of the "exotic erotic orient" who are sexually ferocious. The first hints of this occur on the march to Kabul, when it's mentioned that the chieftans are entertaining the men with beautiful dancing women. I was able to wave this off, feeling Drummond's research must have turned something up. Frankly, I felt like what had probably happened IRL is the chieftans invited some British soldiers to their tent for felafel, and the British soldiers were like "Awwww, we wanted harem girls. Oh well, we'll just write to our buddies that we were surrounded by gyrating harem girls," and therefore there is epistolary evidence of gyrating harem girls.
But then this sentence happens on page 233: "The ladies of Kabul found the pale-skinned gentlemen in scarlet coats quite as beautiful as their conquerors found them and, the Afghan men being overwhelmingly homosexual, seized every opportunity to enjoy the delightful bounty while it lasted."
Wait, wut.
So I tried to hand wave it again. Afghanistan does have a history of dancing boys, and I thought maybe that was what she was referring to, although the stereotype of the middle eastern woman jumping on any and every willing penis that came within her line of vision made me cringe.
But oh wait, then we get....Mooji-Lal, the BIG BAD BADDIE of the book. And he's...wait for it...GAY! Considering this was written in 1983, right when gay men were dropping like flies to AIDS, it seems insensitive to the point of cruel to make your big baddie villain a gay rapist. And reading it in 2013, when racism against people of middle eastern origin is the highest it has been since...well, since British colonial rule, probably...made the creepy stereotyping of middle eastern men as sex-starved fiends who loooooved blond white guys (and middle eastern women ALSO as sex starved fiends who looooved blond white guys) just...too squicky for words.
Which brings me back to Luana. Poor poor Luana, who did NOTHING WRONG, and gets all the shit thrown at her in this book. When Richard is rescued and goes to visit Luana, this happens:
"It was then he realized, with a shock, hat he felt an involuntary revulsion so strong that he had to stand away from her. He stood staring at her beautiful face, her slender perfection of body, her miniature dusky feet that had aroused him sexually on so many nights, and saw only the echo of Mooji-Lal in her dark eyes and brown skin. She reached out to him, sensing that he was not pleased with her, and his skin crawled with the memory of Mooji-Lal's dark hand on his body as he sagged between two guards. [...] He knew he could never bring himself to touch her again."
Whaaaaaaat? So basically Luana is now repulsive to him because she has vaguely the same color skin as the big bad baddie. Now I get that people who have been in traumatic situations do tend to react emotionally to people who look like their attacker, I saw that article that talked about how Jews rescued by Schindler who visited the movie set involuntarily began to shake when they saw Ralph Fiennes in his full Nazi regalia, but the ONLY thing connecting Luana with Mooji-Lal is THE COLOR OF HER SKIN. This is made more obvious a few pages later, when Richard thinks this about Charlotte:
"He opened his eyes again, and something stirred fractionally in him as he saw the lines of worry etched on Charlotte's face-a face that contained no hint of Eastern passion, no expression of sadistic pleasure, no promise of erotic mystery." HE LOVES HER BECAUSE SHE'S WHIIIIIIIIIIIITE.
And finally, poor poor Luana dies in the snow, cold and unloved, because she no longer had a part in the plot.
Ok ok, I'm being really really hard on this book, and it's probably not fair, and I did genuinely like many parts of it and will probably pick up another Emma Drummond book. And despite the silliness of it, I really did like the ending. But still: HE LOVES HER BECAUSE SHE'S WHIIIIIIIIIITE.
I want a book about Luana.
First, the good:
Drummond clearly has a good handle on military life, British history, and history of colonialism. She also subverts or inverts many common tropes, including the "heroes are defined by what they do, heroines are defined by what they endure," and shows unusual understanding that people don't tend to be thrilled being bossed around by their colonial overlords and expecting them to be "loyal" to a country they don't actually care about and actually wish would go away and let them run their own damn country is naive and stupid. So I really appreciated that.
The cringy:
That said, she still falls into a couple tropes that made me cringe and frankly, I cannot excuse because of "when it was written" because 1983 is too damn late. The first issue I had was with Luana. Poor Luana. We never get to know anything about her. For all of Drummond's really insightful writing about Indian MEN, Luana is still never seen or used as anything other than a plot point. Her devotion to Richard is never explained -- is she genuinely in love with him? Does she stay with him because of financial stability? How does she feel about him getting married? WHO KNOWS? She's not a REAL person, she's a bibbe, who is conveniently gotten rid of once her usefulness to the plot is over (more on this later.)
Which brings me to the bigger issue: the trope as middle easterners as part of the "exotic erotic orient" who are sexually ferocious. The first hints of this occur on the march to Kabul, when it's mentioned that the chieftans are entertaining the men with beautiful dancing women. I was able to wave this off, feeling Drummond's research must have turned something up. Frankly, I felt like what had probably happened IRL is the chieftans invited some British soldiers to their tent for felafel, and the British soldiers were like "Awwww, we wanted harem girls. Oh well, we'll just write to our buddies that we were surrounded by gyrating harem girls," and therefore there is epistolary evidence of gyrating harem girls.
But then this sentence happens on page 233: "The ladies of Kabul found the pale-skinned gentlemen in scarlet coats quite as beautiful as their conquerors found them and, the Afghan men being overwhelmingly homosexual, seized every opportunity to enjoy the delightful bounty while it lasted."
Wait, wut.
So I tried to hand wave it again. Afghanistan does have a history of dancing boys, and I thought maybe that was what she was referring to, although the stereotype of the middle eastern woman jumping on any and every willing penis that came within her line of vision made me cringe.
But oh wait, then we get....Mooji-Lal, the BIG BAD BADDIE of the book. And he's...wait for it...GAY! Considering this was written in 1983, right when gay men were dropping like flies to AIDS, it seems insensitive to the point of cruel to make your big baddie villain a gay rapist. And reading it in 2013, when racism against people of middle eastern origin is the highest it has been since...well, since British colonial rule, probably...made the creepy stereotyping of middle eastern men as sex-starved fiends who loooooved blond white guys (and middle eastern women ALSO as sex starved fiends who looooved blond white guys) just...too squicky for words.
Which brings me back to Luana. Poor poor Luana, who did NOTHING WRONG, and gets all the shit thrown at her in this book. When Richard is rescued and goes to visit Luana, this happens:
"It was then he realized, with a shock, hat he felt an involuntary revulsion so strong that he had to stand away from her. He stood staring at her beautiful face, her slender perfection of body, her miniature dusky feet that had aroused him sexually on so many nights, and saw only the echo of Mooji-Lal in her dark eyes and brown skin. She reached out to him, sensing that he was not pleased with her, and his skin crawled with the memory of Mooji-Lal's dark hand on his body as he sagged between two guards. [...] He knew he could never bring himself to touch her again."
Whaaaaaaat? So basically Luana is now repulsive to him because she has vaguely the same color skin as the big bad baddie. Now I get that people who have been in traumatic situations do tend to react emotionally to people who look like their attacker, I saw that article that talked about how Jews rescued by Schindler who visited the movie set involuntarily began to shake when they saw Ralph Fiennes in his full Nazi regalia, but the ONLY thing connecting Luana with Mooji-Lal is THE COLOR OF HER SKIN. This is made more obvious a few pages later, when Richard thinks this about Charlotte:
"He opened his eyes again, and something stirred fractionally in him as he saw the lines of worry etched on Charlotte's face-a face that contained no hint of Eastern passion, no expression of sadistic pleasure, no promise of erotic mystery." HE LOVES HER BECAUSE SHE'S WHIIIIIIIIIIIITE.
And finally, poor poor Luana dies in the snow, cold and unloved, because she no longer had a part in the plot.
Ok ok, I'm being really really hard on this book, and it's probably not fair, and I did genuinely like many parts of it and will probably pick up another Emma Drummond book. And despite the silliness of it, I really did like the ending. But still: HE LOVES HER BECAUSE SHE'S WHIIIIIIIIIITE.
I want a book about Luana.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2014
I wavered between a three and four stars for this one. A powerful and moving finale, as well as vivid descriptions of Britain's disastrous first Afghan war, earned this its fourth star.
Set in India and Afghanistan in the early days of Queen Victoria's reign (1938-1842), Beyond All Frontiers tells the story of a young and very innocent girl, Charlotte Scott, who comes to India to meet her barely remembered parents--and to be married off.
Charlotte Scott's terrible insecurities and the flush of her first infatuation are well drawn, but the first half of the book suffers from uneven pacing and unclear motivations (Is her mother really that senseless? How can she not see what that handsome rake, Dupres, is doing to her daughter?). Both Charlotte and Richard Lingarde (the man she marries) are so uncertain, immature and tongue-tied that they grow a bit tiresome. The dialog is made to carry too great an expository burden and often seems stilted.
Fortunately, the book finds its stride (a full-out gallop) at about the halfway mark and never slows til the finish line. The sheer stupidity and ultimate horrors of the First Anglo-Afghan war are depicted brilliantly. Richard and Charlotte's love is tested, broken and painfully rebuilt in a way that is very moving.
PG warning: Bloody and unsparing descriptions of starvation, winter horrors, war, torture. Mature sexual themes that are delicately handled (I was quite delighted at how Drummond managed to get all the feelings right with nary a body part named!)
Set in India and Afghanistan in the early days of Queen Victoria's reign (1938-1842), Beyond All Frontiers tells the story of a young and very innocent girl, Charlotte Scott, who comes to India to meet her barely remembered parents--and to be married off.
Charlotte Scott's terrible insecurities and the flush of her first infatuation are well drawn, but the first half of the book suffers from uneven pacing and unclear motivations (Is her mother really that senseless? How can she not see what that handsome rake, Dupres, is doing to her daughter?). Both Charlotte and Richard Lingarde (the man she marries) are so uncertain, immature and tongue-tied that they grow a bit tiresome. The dialog is made to carry too great an expository burden and often seems stilted.
Fortunately, the book finds its stride (a full-out gallop) at about the halfway mark and never slows til the finish line. The sheer stupidity and ultimate horrors of the First Anglo-Afghan war are depicted brilliantly. Richard and Charlotte's love is tested, broken and painfully rebuilt in a way that is very moving.
PG warning: Bloody and unsparing descriptions of starvation, winter horrors, war, torture. Mature sexual themes that are delicately handled (I was quite delighted at how Drummond managed to get all the feelings right with nary a body part named!)
July 8, 2008
Absolutely first rate historical fiction. Set in India and Afghanistan during the mid 1800's. My favorite of Emma Drummond/Elizabeth Darrell's books.
July 31, 2016
Loved it!!
November 21, 2020
I recommend the book. It is about the British Invasion of Afghanistan from 1839 until 1843. The British, already occupying India, were afraid that Russia would conquer Afghanistan so Britain made a deadly preemptive move. Read carefully about the climates of these two countries and the defiles of death that were the mountain passes in both countries. There was a love story that carried the history of the invasion. The author's writing mechanics were good.
Thank you, Ms. Drummond, for a good read.
Thank you, Ms. Drummond, for a good read.
January 11, 2019
Brilliant!
What an astonishing, brilliant, desperate love story! Amazing and filled with emotion!
This story based first in India, later in Afghanistan, beginning in 1830's, is so beautifully described and fully covers the unbelievable gross miscalculations and stupidity of the British army politics in those countries. So many casualties both militarily and personally as the snobbery of British society against the natives of these countries clash to a horrendous finale! It is almost overwhelming to read met alone imagine the devastation wrought.
This author's creative writing is probably the most outstanding I have read thus far. The detail in which descriptions of locations, battles and human emotion are written is beyond words.
This is an absolute recommendation to readers of historical fiction and romance. I'm overwhelmingly touched!
What an astonishing, brilliant, desperate love story! Amazing and filled with emotion!
This story based first in India, later in Afghanistan, beginning in 1830's, is so beautifully described and fully covers the unbelievable gross miscalculations and stupidity of the British army politics in those countries. So many casualties both militarily and personally as the snobbery of British society against the natives of these countries clash to a horrendous finale! It is almost overwhelming to read met alone imagine the devastation wrought.
This author's creative writing is probably the most outstanding I have read thus far. The detail in which descriptions of locations, battles and human emotion are written is beyond words.
This is an absolute recommendation to readers of historical fiction and romance. I'm overwhelmingly touched!
March 25, 2013
Review to come. I'm still thinking about and savoring this wonderful story.
July 20, 2021
*Spoilers and I DON'T CARE*
Sweet baby gherkins on a Triscuit, this was god-awful. Like an idiot, I bought the "Far Pavilions" analogies that other readers gushed about, and bought this out-of-print paperback on Thriftbooks. I was so excited. The British Raj is one of my favorite historical subjects, and the sepoy rebellions of the 1840s are always fascinating and harrowing. I love seeing people fight for their freedom, even bloodily. And a "sweeping romance" to boot, with an "intelligent heroine"? Sooooooooold. But I can honestly say I support this going out-of-print. It needs to crawl back into whatever cesspit it spawned in.
Racism? Check.
Blatant racism? Der.
Romance that is actually people physically, emotionally, and sadistically cheating on each other, publicly, over many years? Yarp.
Bad parenting? Oh yeah, tons.
Silly females? Too many.
A mom who absolutely sucks? Yessir.
A daughter who is certifiably Captain Cringe in my book? Who emulates said mom and loses herself and goes against her gut and common sense on the reg? She doesn't deserve the title of bluestocking. Ack.
Adultery featuring said mom? Affirmative.
Clunky writing that varied from awkward dialogue to large chunks of history that wasn't always accurate? Infodump became infodon't.
Jerk hero who tarnishes his reputation multiple times because he's overdramatic? Why yes, and he's a perfect foil for our zeroine that knows eveything about Kabul but nothing about having lady parts.
And that ending...sweet lord, can I please switch and get the amnesia instead? I don't want to remember this. It was basically "Zemindar" minus the charm.
In the approximated words of every reader of this dismal collection of bound rags, "I know Far Pavilions. I read Far Pavilions. I watched the mini series of Far Pavilions. And you, Frontiers, are no Far Pavilions."
Sweet baby gherkins on a Triscuit, this was god-awful. Like an idiot, I bought the "Far Pavilions" analogies that other readers gushed about, and bought this out-of-print paperback on Thriftbooks. I was so excited. The British Raj is one of my favorite historical subjects, and the sepoy rebellions of the 1840s are always fascinating and harrowing. I love seeing people fight for their freedom, even bloodily. And a "sweeping romance" to boot, with an "intelligent heroine"? Sooooooooold. But I can honestly say I support this going out-of-print. It needs to crawl back into whatever cesspit it spawned in.
Racism? Check.
Blatant racism? Der.
Romance that is actually people physically, emotionally, and sadistically cheating on each other, publicly, over many years? Yarp.
Bad parenting? Oh yeah, tons.
Silly females? Too many.
A mom who absolutely sucks? Yessir.
A daughter who is certifiably Captain Cringe in my book? Who emulates said mom and loses herself and goes against her gut and common sense on the reg? She doesn't deserve the title of bluestocking. Ack.
Adultery featuring said mom? Affirmative.
Clunky writing that varied from awkward dialogue to large chunks of history that wasn't always accurate? Infodump became infodon't.
Jerk hero who tarnishes his reputation multiple times because he's overdramatic? Why yes, and he's a perfect foil for our zeroine that knows eveything about Kabul but nothing about having lady parts.
And that ending...sweet lord, can I please switch and get the amnesia instead? I don't want to remember this. It was basically "Zemindar" minus the charm.
In the approximated words of every reader of this dismal collection of bound rags, "I know Far Pavilions. I read Far Pavilions. I watched the mini series of Far Pavilions. And you, Frontiers, are no Far Pavilions."
April 27, 2020
I love British-Raj novels, especially if they’re set during periods of turmoil. Even better if they have an epic romance at the heart of them, like Zemindar or M.M. Kaye’s novels.
This lived up to the turmoil but fell short on the romance. For half the book the heroine was in love with a turd, so that was frustrating. Then for most of the middle the main couple was either separated or Richard hated Charlotte’s guts for something that would be deeply hurtful, yes, but ultimately didn’t warrant that level of hate. I mean, he was even going to reject their child over it. Men are so irrational.
Things started getting really good in the third half - plenty of feels and action and turmoil. But then...but then...
But then that last minute plot twist. What in the world was that random shit about? Not only did it happen at the eleventh hour - like literally in the last 2% of the book - it’s also one of my most hated plot twists. And then the book just...ended? After all that? He just and she just
This lived up to the turmoil but fell short on the romance. For half the book the heroine was in love with a turd, so that was frustrating. Then for most of the middle the main couple was either separated or Richard hated Charlotte’s guts for something that would be deeply hurtful, yes, but ultimately didn’t warrant that level of hate. I mean, he was even going to reject their child over it. Men are so irrational.
Things started getting really good in the third half - plenty of feels and action and turmoil. But then...but then...
But then that last minute plot twist. What in the world was that random shit about? Not only did it happen at the eleventh hour - like literally in the last 2% of the book - it’s also one of my most hated plot twists. And then the book just...ended? After all that? He just and she just
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2017
With M.M Kaye as my benchmark for all Pre-Partition British Raj historical fiction and it being one of my most favorite sub-genres, I had high expectations and anticipation for this book. The first half of it had me convinced that I'd hit gold and this book was almost as good as Kaye's work, but once the Afghanistan part comes into play, the story starts doddering and somehow quite doesn't recover its previous high tenor. The characters are well crafted, perfectly fit the storyline and so is their logical development with the story's progression. I really liked Richard in the first half who is wonderful (not exactly Alex Randell but near enough) but the second half transforms him into something else completely, understandably, but on a shaky footing, very understandably again, but it's a bit of a let down as his story doesn't quite resonate that much by then though I did care about his tale. As with other such stories, the heroine transforms from the opinionated, oft misguided and making-the-reader-angry-with-her-attitude miss to a lady worthy of admiration after her experiences but here too Charolette is perfectly presented in the first half as per the storyline and not that much in the 2nd half, so she doesn't really get my admiration in her final self. Its like I didn't quite feel the force of the characters in the end as I should have. However, it's well written, easy to read, not bogged with unnecessary details, not hard to follow, engrossing but quite hard to put down. Although it's pretty light on the historical details as compared to other such books (some of which get bogged down with the historical aspect like Zemindar), it has enough to give a clear picture of the events and happenings. But I found that because it's light on such details and with the 'ordeals' not being overly explained, the 'ordeals' don't 'horrify' for long to resonate into 'harrowing'. Overall, I went from really enjoying it to just liking it by the end as I found certain elements which I didn't care for, like the treatment and handling of non-English characters and the 'physical' aspect of the story, which is a driving factor of the story, fair enough, but I didn't like it's mention in Richard's final chapters as it seemed redundant as it didn't figure much into his future and seems misplaced. All in all, I'm glad that I've read this book and might try another from the author.
January 19, 2023
Wow, this was such a ride. I liked the writing style and the story was full of adventure. I have mixed feelings about the main characters Richard and Charlotte but one thing is shure, the author portraid very well the human nature with all it's imperfections. All characters have flaws but also show qualities, which I find very endeering and relatable. I read also Shadow of the Moon and Zemindar,which aproach the British rule in India, but this story is about the anglo-afgan war 1839-1842 and all its horrors. I recommend this book,it is well written and adventurous.
August 30, 2021
I dislike Charlotte greatly as I read of her halfway through the book...falling into the arms of her first love, moaning his name, pressing herself against him, ETC. (ahem tmi already) and basically CHEATING on her loving husband! after seemingly HATING this first guy?? she decides whoopdy doo i
ll just swoon into his rapey arms again! take me i'm yours!
Fed up also with the lack of a clear resolution to their Colley problem before he forgives her like nothing happened.
ll just swoon into his rapey arms again! take me i'm yours!
Fed up also with the lack of a clear resolution to their Colley problem before he forgives her like nothing happened.
September 19, 2018
If you enjoy historical novels of the British Raj, this is a novel for you. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this one.
Want to read
April 25, 2022Note to self: This author has republished most of her work on Amazon under the pen Elizabeth Darrell. Not sure if neutered or not.
December 2, 2024
This is an incredible book. It might be my favorite novel 0f all time. I want to respond to some of the people who have suggested that Charlotte was not very likeable. I think readers need to remember that Charlotte is 17 when she comes out to India. She had been living with an unmarried aunt and her only real experience of males was her warm relationship she shared with her two half-brothers, Tom and Hugh. The real question is why an older man--late 30s and one who is having an affair with her mother--decides to play with the young girl's emotions and self-esteem. Charlotte is a good and intelligent person, but just so young. Her marriage to the wonderful Richard goes bad because he, in his late 20s, can't see beyond his own hurt. Yes, many of the characters have flaws, but I think the author shows a lot of empathy for people who lived in a time when many marriages were not for love and the consequences that situation likely brought about. I also loved how she recognized human pettiness. I am thinking here of the argument that Charlotte and Richard have as they begin the terrible escape from Afghanistan--such a true argument and yet both realized that they soon might both be dead. I also like that the reader spends just as much time in Richard's head as in Charlotte's, they are both equally complex, yet lovable characters.
January 3, 2015
I read this in 3 days, one of those being New Years Day where I spent all hours fully absorbed. Although Beyond All Frontiers is a historical novel, it is a timeless story of the virtues and faults, loves and misunderstandings of men and women. Judging from the book cover, it has been marketed as a romance. If this is a romance novel, then I guess I'm a fan of the genre. Some of my own experience of newlywed problems was told in this tale. I was enlightened by the view into the female side of the situation, and the male side was all truth.
Technically speaking, this was a delight to read. The third person omniscient narrative style was used. The hand of the author was invisible, letting one be fully captivated in the story.
Technically speaking, this was a delight to read. The third person omniscient narrative style was used. The hand of the author was invisible, letting one be fully captivated in the story.
August 22, 2019
One of my favorite Drummond books (the only one I like more is Captive Freedom), this is set shortly before, during and after Britain's disastrous Afghan campaign and centers on the very dysfunctional relationship between Richard - a half-English, half-Russian military engineer and Charlotte, a young Englishwoman sent to India by her residing-there mother to find a husband.
This one has it all - battles, politics, treachery, dysfunctional as hell romance that is addictive, history, and all good things.
I have a bit of a crush on Richard and adore Charlotte.
One thing I do with is that the ending was a little longer.
But other than that, it's perfect.
This one has it all - battles, politics, treachery, dysfunctional as hell romance that is addictive, history, and all good things.
I have a bit of a crush on Richard and adore Charlotte.
One thing I do with is that the ending was a little longer.
But other than that, it's perfect.
March 1, 2016
Beyond All Frontiers, Emma Drummond, RDC-M, #1-84, 1987. British, Romance, Okay.
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