Winner of 2019 Pinnacle Achievement Award for Literary Fiction.
Baby Snakes is an original take on the Raj, full of wry humor, strong characters, and evocative descriptions that linger. Full-bodied characters and a darkly comedic narrative voice combine in Demarest Campbell's Baby Snakes, a historical novel in which Brits behave badly under the Raj...Descriptions of people and locales blend dark humor with undercurrents of openhearted empathy and reach near-brilliant concision... ~ Foreword CLARION REVIEW
Campbell's darkly humorous historical novel follows the iconoclastic life of Cordelia Moran in 19th-century Calcutta. These well-drawn, decidedly British characters spend their steamy days in India in erudite, witty repartee... An elegant examination of the people and mores of a particular time and place in the history of the British Empire; perfect for anglophiles. ~ KIRKUS REVIEW
Fans of old-school classics like “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights” will fall in love with the dream-like prose here...The life cycle of this singular family felt entirely organic and deeply human. A uniquely delightful tale!.. ~ Publishers Weekly BOOKLIFE
This was written with the style and grace of a classic novel--reading it feels like unearthing an ancient treasure... This is a beautiful story with extravagantly beautiful language... ~ TALEFLICK
Baby Snakes is an original take on the Raj, full of wry humor, strong characters, and evocative descriptions that linger. Full-bodied characters and a darkly comedic narrative voice combine in Demarest Campbell's Baby Snakes, a historical novel in which Brits behave badly under the Raj...Descriptions of people and locales blend dark humor with undercurrents of openhearted empathy and reach near-brilliant concision...
~ Foreword CLARION REVIEW
Campbell's darkly humorous historical novel follows the iconoclastic life of Cordelia Moran in 19th-century Calcutta. These well-drawn, decidedly British characters spend their steamy days in India in erudite, witty repartee... An elegant examination of the people and mores of a particular time and place in the history of the British Empire; perfect for anglophiles.
~ KIRKUS REVIEW
Fans of old-school classics like “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights” will fall in love with the dream-like prose here...The life cycle of this singular family felt entirely organic and deeply human. A uniquely delightful tale!..
~ Publishers Weekly BOOKLIFE
This was written with the style and grace of a classic novel--reading it feels like unearthing an ancient treasure... This is a beautiful story with extravagantly beautiful language...
~ TALEFLICK