
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Indian Mutiny, the novel opens with a half‑finished letter from a young officer, Seymour Michael, to his beloved Anna. Through his crisp observations and restless eyes, we glimpse a man torn between duty, ambition, and a cold calculation of risk and reward. As he navigates the precarious world of British‑Indian society, his internal conflict becomes a mirror for the larger clash of empires.
Seymour’s arrival in Calcutta brings him into contact with a cast of vivid characters—colonial clerks, native babus, and the restless crowds pulsing through the streets. The narrative follows his early attempts to turn the chaotic war‑torn landscape into a chance for personal gain, while his uneasy marriage to the wealthy Anna Hethbridge threatens to anchor him to a life he never intended. Listeners are drawn into a richly detailed portrait of ambition, love, and the moral compromises of a man on the brink of destiny.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (354K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Text file produced by Distributed Proofreaders HTML file produced by David Widger
Release date
2005-09-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1862–1903
Known for brisk adventure stories and popular late-Victorian novels, this English writer published under the name Henry Seton Merriman and found a wide readership with books like The Sowers. His fiction often blends romance, politics, and travel with a fast-moving, old-world storytelling style.
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