The Peacock Spring (35 page)

I was lucky enough to get to know Rumer Godden, after I had read
The River
, another of her books set in India, on the radio. She remains a writer who never ceases to surprise me. Her
stories are always compelling, her characters many-layered, her handling of relationships subtle and truthful, and there is always, below the surface, more to enrich the reader, to return to again
and again. That is certainly true of
The Peacock Spring
.

Anne Harvey

RUMER GODDEN was one of Britain’s most distinguished authors with many justly famous and much-loved books for both adults and children to her credit, including
Black
Narcissus
,
The Greengage Summer
and
The River
.

She was awarded the OBE in 1993 and died in 1998, aged ninety.

Also by Rumer Godden

Pippa Passes

Coromandel Sea Change

The River

In This House of Brede

Episode of Sparrows

Black Narcissus

The Greengage Summer

Cromartie v. the God Shiva

Breakfast with the Nikolides

Kingfishers Catch Fire

1
Translation: ‘Sleep, baby, sleep/Butter, bread and sugar. /Eating, drinking is over. /My baby will sleep. /Sleep, baby, sleep.’
‘Nini’ is baby talk for sleep, like ‘fait dodo’ in French.

First published 1975 by Macmillan London

This edition published 2004 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2011 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-447-20635-4 EPUB

Copyright © Rumer Godden Literary Estate 1975

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

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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