First edition. 8vo. Pp. [vi], 246, [4]. Mustard-yellow cloth boards, lettered in black to spine; black endpapers. Jacket design by William Webb.
Signed by Author to title page.
Author's debut novel. Winner of a 1999 Betty Trask Award (awarded by Britain's Society of Authors), and an Ian St James Short Story Award. A naïve southern Indian teenage girl who phantasizes about Audrey Hepburn movies runs away from an arranged marriage to Delhi, and enters into the service of Mr Aziz as a maid. "Colourful, spirited and crackling with charm: it's easy to see why Balasubramanyam has already won a Betty Trask prize." –Lisa Darnell, The Guardian