Anila's Journey

by Mary Finn

  The two paintings described on pages 190 and 209 are actual paintings and can be viewed in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. An Indian Lady (the cover painting, dated 1787) is believed to depict the bibi/mistress of the lawyer and memoirist William Hickey (no relation). She died in childbirth. The young sisters in Portrait of Two Children (1769) are not named.

  ANILA’S JOURNEY

  Mary Finn worked for years as a magazine journalist with Radio Telefís Eireann, the Irish broadcasting service. A particular pleasure was dealing with children’s books, their authors and illustrators, and the very keen readers who always insisted on knowing where ideas came from.

  “My fascination with India began when I was about eight,” says Mary. “There was a story at school that I now know came from the Mahabharata. It was rich and strange, packed with lotus flowers and princesses and birds that were twice as wise as humans. So, for me, it was a pleasure to avoid the usual advice offered to writers (Write What You Know) and instead go for the alternative version (Write What You Want To Find Out). I recommend this. As a time travel device it’s the only one we’ve yet discovered and it’s one hundred per cent eco-friendly. But having a true regard also for Writing What You Can See With Your Own Eyes, I confess I did get to go to India too.”

  Mary lives in Dublin with her son and works as a freelance writer.

  Acknowledgements

  I owe a great debt to Bunny Gupta in Calcutta, for her interest and encouragement throughout and for her keen historical eye. Thanks also to Dr Robert Prys–Jones of the Natural History Museum at Tring in the UK, who mailed me the mythological story of the sarus crane. Colette Edwards of the National Botanic Gardens Library in Dublin was assiduous in digging out many a tree and plant fact for me. I am grateful to Assadour Guzelian and Armenag Topalian for Armenian references. Any errors are mine.

  Thanks, too, to my editor, Mara Bergman, and my agent, Sarah Manson, friends now, enthusiasts always.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  First published 2008 by Walker Books Ltd

  87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ

  Text © 2008 Mary Finn

  Cover image based on Sarus Crane, painted for Lady Impey at Calcutta, c. 1780 / Shaikh Zain ud-Din / Bridgeman Art Library and A View of Calcutta from a point opposite to Kidderpore, 1837, engraved by Robert Havell the Younger (1793-1878) / James Baillie Fraser / Bridgeman Art Library and An Indian Lady (oil on canvas, 102x127cm) / Thomas Hickey (1741-1824) / National Gallery of Ireland Collection / photo ©The National Gallery of Ireland

  The right of Mary Finn to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:

  a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978-1-4063-3805-8 (ePub)

  ISBN 978-1-4063-3806-5 (e-PDF)

  www.walkerbooks.co.uk