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* {{Nobody Thinks It Will Work}}: The general (and thought of those who know Anjuli and Ashton's true relationship. For [[StarCrossedLovers obvious reasons]].
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* {{Absent Minded Professor}}: Professor Hilary Pelham-Martyn, father of Ashton, who is ''so absent minded'' that he doesn't even remember to alert ''any'' of his relatives that he married and had a child. The consequences of said action trouble his son for ''years''.
* {{Bling of War}}: The fancy, full dress-uniform of the Corps of Guides. It looks ''very'' nice, but according to Ashton who has to wear it for important meetings (including a marriage ceremony), it's very hot and uncomfortable - he can't wait to remove it.
* {{Blondes Are Evil}}: Played straight with yellow-haired Belinda; averted thoroughly with the very amiable and very blond Wally.
** Wally is pretty much the embodiment of EveryoneLovesBlondes - he's just so ''likable''.
* {{Blondes Are Evil}}: Played straight with yellow-haired Belinda; averted thoroughly with the very amiable and very blond Wally.
** Wally is pretty much the embodiment of EveryoneLovesBlondes - he's just so ''likable''.
* {{Combat Pragmatist}}: Depending on who he is fighting and the circumstances, Ashton goes between this and LetsFightLikeGentleman.
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* {{Cool Old Lady}}: The wise, tolerant and understanding Mrs. Viccary, an older woman who befriends Ashton, even becoming his private confidante. Their friendship is based on the fact that she, (like him), loves India and is educated and respectful of its customs and its people.
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* {{Cool Old Lady}}: The wise, tolerant and understanding Mrs. Viccary, an older woman who befriends Ashton, even becoming [[SecretKeeper his private confidante. confidante]] several times. Their friendship is based on the fact that she, (like him), loves India and is educated and respectful of its customs and its people.people.
* {{Cultured Badass}}: Very much Ashton - then again, considering the era and his profession, he kind of ''has'' to be.
** Wally too.
** The Corps in general - especially the truly book-loving, intelligent ones.
* {{Dances and Balls}}: In the early part of the novel, these are mentioned frequently.
* {{Cultured Badass}}: Very much Ashton - then again, considering the era and his profession, he kind of ''has'' to be.
** Wally too.
** The Corps in general - especially the truly book-loving, intelligent ones.
* {{Dances and Balls}}: In the early part of the novel, these are mentioned frequently.
* {{Empty Shell}}: Hinted at while the rescue mission is taking place but revealed fully later on, [[spoiler: Anjuli is shown to have become this, thanks to Shushila who has finally revealed her true colours and the the crushing loneliness and lack of love Anjuli experienced while in Bhithor. Taken UpToEleven when Anjuli finally reveals to Ashton that she was starved and kept in isolation ''by Shushila''.]]
* {{It's All About Me}}: There is a brief moment where Ashton goes through this thought, fantasizing about [[spoiler: getting Anjuli back from the clutches of the Rana, regardless of his companions all dying with the immense danger of provoking war with Bhithor]]. He's ''utterly disgusted'' and angry at himself for even thinking such a thing.
* {{Jerk With a Heart of Gold}}: The ever-troubled, angsty Ashton, though underlying all his difficulties, he really ''is'' a NiceGuy - it just isn't so obvious.
* {{Made of Iron}}: Mostly averted, because though Ashton is strong and in tip-top physical shape, the harsh lifestyle and difficult duties make him susceptible to serious injury more often than not.
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* {{Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow}}: Along with {{The Chief's Daughter}} are AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
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* {{Mighty Whitey and And Mellow Yellow}}: Along with {{The Chief's Daughter}} are Yellow [=/=] The Chiefs Daughter}}: AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
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* {{Officer and a Gentleman}}: Both Ashton and Wally, though Wally is the true example of this, being both an extremely loyal soldier and very gentlemanly by nature. Ashton's...much more of a refined BadBoy.
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* {{Omniglot}}: [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like his father before him]], Ashton is gifted with the ability to speak, read and write in several langues though this skill isn't limited to just himself - members of the Corps ''had'' to be able to do this, in order to communicate and more effectively "govern their subjects".
** Non-Corps members, i.e, the Pashtuns or Indians pretty much grew up with this ability.
** Non-Corps members, i.e, the Pashtuns or Indians pretty much grew up with this ability.
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* {{Pimped-Out Dress}}: Besides the more formal versions of military uniform, the gorgeous outfits of the Indian royalty are depicted as such - not to mention the ''stunning'' saris and incredible jewelry of the princesses, Anjuli and Shushila.
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* {{Rated M For Manly}}: The Corps of Guides, the Frontier Men, the army and the British Raj/India in general. The era made it such.
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* {{Sexless Marriage}}: [[spoiler: Fortunately for Anjuli, her marriage to the Rana is in name only; he never even lays a finger on her (which is good for [[CrazyJealousGuy Ashton]] as well.]]
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* {{Uptown Girl}}: Considering that Anjuli is a ''princess of royalty and lineage'' and Ashton just one of many regular British officers and ''well'' beneath her rank.
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* {{Victorian Novel Disease}}: Cholera, which shows up with a vengeance at the start of the book, killing Ashton's father, Akbar Khan and almost everyone in that location.
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* {{Mighty Whitey}}: '''AVERTED'''. Sure, majority of the British army personnel and the civilians are under this impression - they're dead wrong. While certain British ways/inventions are used, they're not presented nor implied to be anything along the lines of MightyWhitey.
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* {{Mighty Whitey}}: '''AVERTED'''. Sure, majority of the British army personnel and the civilians are under this impression - they're dead wrong. ''dead wrong'' for the most part. While certain British ways/inventions ways/inventions/strategies are used, they're not presented nor implied to be anything along the lines of MightyWhitey.
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* {{Mighty Whitey Mellow Yellow}} {{The Chief's Daughter}}: AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
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* {{Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow}} Yellow}}: Along with {{The Chief's Daughter}}: Daughter}} are AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
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* {{No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me}}: Almost said word for word by Ashton when he reveals to Anjuli that he's really the Ashok she knew from childhood. To say she's shocked that the British man in front of her is the same 12 year old Indian boy she was so fond of as a child is an understatement.
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* {{No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me}}: Almost said word for word by Ashton when he reveals to Anjuli that he's really the Ashok she knew from childhood. To say she's shocked that the tall British man in Raj uniform in front of her is the same 12 year old Indian boy she was so fond of as a child is an understatement.
** Anjuli on the other hand at 18, is revolted at the thought that a man of the Rana's age and physique would ever lay a hand on her. Which is another reason why she [[spoiler: loses her virginity to Ashton, coupled with the fact that she is in love with him.]]
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** Anjuli on the other hand at 18, is revolted at the thought that a man of the Rana's age and physique would ever lay a hand on her. Which is another reason why she [[spoiler: loses her virginity to Ashton, coupled with the fact that she is in love with him.]]
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: That repeated dream of a girl riding on the horse with Ashton, with her long black hair streaming in the wind urging him to make the horse go faster because there is someone chasing them isn't just a dream...
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* {{Half Breed Discrimination}}: The British Raj is painfully cruel to those of mixed ancestry. George learns this the hard way. Anjuli has some problems with this too.
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* {{Love Epiphany}}: Ashton gets his dose after comforting a devastated Anjuli the same night he tells her that he is the same Ashok of their past.
-->'''Ashton''': 'No,' whispered Ash, arguing with himself in the silence. 'No of course not. It's ridiculous. It couldn't possibly happen like that...not in just one minute, between one breath and the next. It couldn't...' But he knew that it could. [[LoveAtFirstSight Because it had just happened to him]].
-->'''Ashton''': 'No,' whispered Ash, arguing with himself in the silence. 'No of course not. It's ridiculous. It couldn't possibly happen like that...not in just one minute, between one breath and the next. It couldn't...' But he knew that it could. [[LoveAtFirstSight Because it had just happened to him]].
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* {{The Main Characters Do Everything}}: Time and time again Ashton discovers the hard way that most of the people surrounding him are useless. On the other hand, this is exactly what gets him in trouble and makes him somewhat of a renegade soldier.
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* {{Mighty Whitey}}: '''AVERTED'''. Sure, majority of the British army personnel and the civilians are under this impression - they're dead wrong. While certain British ways/inventions are used, they're not presented nor implied to be anything along the lines of MightyWhitey.
** Both sides are shown to have things to learn from each other; not to mention, the theme of MightyWhitey is presented only to deconstructed and discussed.
* {{Mighty Whitey Mellow Yellow}} {{The Chief's Daughter}}: AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
** Likewise, Ashton, though he only fell in love with Anjuli when he met her again as an adult, did not "fall for her" because she was this gorgeous, ''hot'' Indian girl. Rather, he felt the deep bond and love for her based on their incommunicable past, which no one but them would ever know or understand. His love for her began with their connection from the past - she is the only thing from that era which hasn't and which never does change for him. She is his stability, his unchanging comfort; his anchor. He needs her, he cannot live without her. She feels the same.
* {{Mood Whiplash}}: Several times and to a [[FromBadToWorse shocking degree]].
** Both sides are shown to have things to learn from each other; not to mention, the theme of MightyWhitey is presented only to deconstructed and discussed.
* {{Mighty Whitey Mellow Yellow}} {{The Chief's Daughter}}: AVERTED ''beautifully''. Ashton does not "get" Anjuli because he's white and British - their relationship, their love of each other is rooted in the past they share together, which none but them understands. Anjuli has loved Ashton even before she (or he!) knew he was actually British; she has loved him since he was a child, then known as Ashok and (to everyone including himself) an Indian boy. She loved him and knew him first as such; later, when they meet as adults she's immediately drawn to him and this again stems from her love of Ashok, now Ashton. Him being white and British in reality, does not change anything of her feelings for him. She loves Ashton regardless of whether he's British or Indian.
** Likewise, Ashton, though he only fell in love with Anjuli when he met her again as an adult, did not "fall for her" because she was this gorgeous, ''hot'' Indian girl. Rather, he felt the deep bond and love for her based on their incommunicable past, which no one but them would ever know or understand. His love for her began with their connection from the past - she is the only thing from that era which hasn't and which never does change for him. She is his stability, his unchanging comfort; his anchor. He needs her, he cannot live without her. She feels the same.
* {{Mood Whiplash}}: Several times and to a [[FromBadToWorse shocking degree]].
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* {{Race For Your Love}}: Done seriously and very dangerously when Ashton and company race to [[spoiler: save Anjuli and to a lesser extent, Shushila from suttee]].
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* {{Real Men Love Jesus}}: The devout Irish-Protestant Wally loves the Lord just as much as he loves war. Ashton tends to be much more of a NayTheist. Anjuli in her turn, is pretty much the 1800's version of an atheist - she doesn't believe in any gods and she feels that if they exist, they ignore her pleas to them. Everyone else tends to be either Muslim, Hindu or some form of Christianity. There's even [[YouGottaHaveJews one Jew mentioned!]]
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* {{Real Men Love Jesus}}: The devout Irish-Protestant Wally loves the Lord just as much as he loves war. Ashton tends to be much more of a NayTheist. Anjuli in her turn, is pretty much the 1800's version of an atheist - she doesn't believe in any gods and she feels that if they exist, they ignore her pleas to them. Everyone else tends to be either Muslim, Hindu or some form of Christianity. There's even [[YouGottaHaveJews [[YouHaveToHaveJews one Jew mentioned!]]
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While the author makes sure to show that both sides have corruption, prejudice and racism, Kaye also showcases that there was good mixed in as well as the bad and the system worked best when two sides learned from each other and the British stopped thinking along MightyWhitey lines. It's an honest portrayal and one that is fair to all sides of the picture. Though in saying this, it is clear that the author's sympathies still lay with India more often than not.
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** While the author makes sure to show that both sides have corruption, prejudice and racism, Kaye also showcases that there was good mixed in as well as the bad and the system worked best when two sides learned from each other and the British stopped thinking along MightyWhitey lines. It's an honest portrayal and one that is fair to all sides of the picture. picture - the good is pointed out regardless of side; the bad is dealt with the same way.
** Though in saying all this, it is clear that the author's sympathies still lay with India more often thannot.not. Even when she died, her ashes were taken, per her request, to be scattered in India - the country she adored. She was British and white.
** Though in saying all this, it is clear that the author's sympathies still lay with India more often than
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* {{The Gunslinger}}: Ashton's pretty damn handy with his rifle and [[ImprobableAimingSkills has excellent aim]]. Who takes the cake however with their [[TheQuickDraw superb skills]] and their [[ImprobableAimingSkills perfect, ''impeccable'' aim]] is the hunter, Bukta.
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* {{The Gunslinger}}: Ashton's pretty damn handy with his rifle and [[ImprobableAimingSkills has excellent aim]]. Who takes the cake however with their [[TheQuickDraw [[QuickDraw superb skills]] and their [[ImprobableAimingSkills perfect, ''impeccable'' aim]] is the hunter, Bukta.
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* {{Sim Sim Salabim}}: As the book reads both like a realistic historic work and also a fairytale of an era and land gone by, this Trope is both yes ''and'' no. The book showcases the mystical, ancient side of India - for instance, there is suttee, medicine men, charming snakes to do your bidding; there are rajahs and ancient temples alongside gorgeous, sprawling palaces, elephants, tigers; beautiful princesses and conniving royalty. Then again, this part of India WAS true of India in that period and their history. At the same time however, the book also makes sure to point out the stereotypes about India and makes sure to show the complexity of the land and its people as well as customs. The author also makes sure to point out the hypocrisy of the British rule and deconstructs the "nobility" of the British Rule - calling out the WhiteMansBurden and the superior thinking of the British towards the Indians, especially as it is shown the British had many things to learn from India and the Indian peoples. The book shows over and over that ''both'' sides have things to learn from each other; in some things the British way is better, in other ways the Indian way works best.
While the author makes sure to show that both sides have corruption, prejudice and racism, Kaye also showcases that there was good mixed in as well as the bad and the system worked best when two sides learned from each other and the British stopped thinking along MightyWhitey lines. It's an honest portrayal and one that is fair to all sides of the picture. Though in saying this, it is clear that the author's sympathies still lay with India more often than not.
--> '''Hilary Pelham-Martyn''': 'I am not,' insisted Hilary 'an unpatriotic man. But I cannot see anything admirable in stupidity, injustice and sheer incompetence in high places, and there is too much of all three in the present administration.'
--> '''Akbar Khan''': 'I will not quarrel with you over that,' said Akbar Khan. 'But it will pass; and your children's children will forget the guilt and remember only the glory, while ours will remember the oppression and deny you the good. Yet there is much good.'
While the author makes sure to show that both sides have corruption, prejudice and racism, Kaye also showcases that there was good mixed in as well as the bad and the system worked best when two sides learned from each other and the British stopped thinking along MightyWhitey lines. It's an honest portrayal and one that is fair to all sides of the picture. Though in saying this, it is clear that the author's sympathies still lay with India more often than not.
--> '''Hilary Pelham-Martyn''': 'I am not,' insisted Hilary 'an unpatriotic man. But I cannot see anything admirable in stupidity, injustice and sheer incompetence in high places, and there is too much of all three in the present administration.'
--> '''Akbar Khan''': 'I will not quarrel with you over that,' said Akbar Khan. 'But it will pass; and your children's children will forget the guilt and remember only the glory, while ours will remember the oppression and deny you the good. Yet there is much good.'
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* {{Sniping Mission}}: Though entirely unplanned, Ashton finds himself in this position when [[spoiler: Anjuli [[MercyKill begs him to murder Shushila]] to save her from the horrific death of suttee.]] Ashton is ''not'' pleased and doesn't want to do it - however, after seeing the [[spoiler: flames of suttee approaching Shushila, hearing her terrified screams and seeing her utterly frightened face]] Ashton gives in. Though it is a very difficult shot, his aim does not miss.
* {{Someone to Remember Him By}}: This is what Anjuli hopes and yearns for, as she wants to [[spoiler: have Ashton's child and care for the baby]] to both remember [[spoiler: Ashton]] by, as well as give her something to better tolerate marriage to the Rana of Bhithor. It [[spoiler: doesn't happen and Anjuli does not get pregnant.]]
* {{Sophisticated as Hell}}: Sometimes.
* {{Spot of Tea}}: From the simple refreshment to using the drink/customs to show how the majority British (civilians) who lived in India refused to adapt or even ''try'' out anything about India or their culture other than to laugh and mock them.
** To be fair, those in the Corps of Guides and the soldiers in general learned at least one Indian language, at the food and were very familiar with the customs. they had to be, in order to get the Indians into the army and work for them - though there were some who genuinely wanted to learn about India with no ulterior motives. Plenty of British soldiers worked side by side with the Indians and even befriended them, though there was coolness on ''both'' sides.
* {{Someone to Remember Him By}}: This is what Anjuli hopes and yearns for, as she wants to [[spoiler: have Ashton's child and care for the baby]] to both remember [[spoiler: Ashton]] by, as well as give her something to better tolerate marriage to the Rana of Bhithor. It [[spoiler: doesn't happen and Anjuli does not get pregnant.]]
* {{Sophisticated as Hell}}: Sometimes.
* {{Spot of Tea}}: From the simple refreshment to using the drink/customs to show how the majority British (civilians) who lived in India refused to adapt or even ''try'' out anything about India or their culture other than to laugh and mock them.
** To be fair, those in the Corps of Guides and the soldiers in general learned at least one Indian language, at the food and were very familiar with the customs. they had to be, in order to get the Indians into the army and work for them - though there were some who genuinely wanted to learn about India with no ulterior motives. Plenty of British soldiers worked side by side with the Indians and even befriended them, though there was coolness on ''both'' sides.
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* {{Stiff Upper Lip}}: British or not, everyone gets their turn.
* {{Sugar and Ice Personality}}: Very much with Ashton who is cold, unfriendly, brooding and reserved with the majority of people - but with those he cares for, he becomes talkative, friendly, open and affectionate. Considering he's a soldier with a confusing past, this isn't surprising and depending on the situation/moment, Ashton becomes a mixture of both. By nature however, he's a quiet man.
* {{Sugar and Ice Personality}}: Very much with Ashton who is cold, unfriendly, brooding and reserved with the majority of people - but with those he cares for, he becomes talkative, friendly, open and affectionate. Considering he's a soldier with a confusing past, this isn't surprising and depending on the situation/moment, Ashton becomes a mixture of both. By nature however, he's a quiet man.
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* {{Tall Dark and Snarky}}: Cuttingly, Ashton when he's in the mood to be.
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* {{Troubled but Cute}}: Ashton, over and over again. But then again, considering his circumstances...
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* {{Wide Eyed Idealist}}: Over and over again, Ashton is told to stop thinking in such childish, black and white terms as "it's not fair" and to stop applying such an immature outlook to the far more complex problems of the real world. [[spoiler: At the end of the book, he finally does.]]
* {{Women Are Wiser}}: Anjuli is the one to put a stop to the dangerous and utterly absurd plan of Ashton's to have her run away with him. He's ''furious'' about her refusal, but then grudgingly and bitterly comes to realize that she's absolutely right.
* {{The Woobie}}: Ashton's flavours come in TheWoobie, IronWoobie and StoicWoobie. Justified, since life has a bad habit of making him somewhat of a ChewToy.
** Like Ashton, Anjuli suffers with being the Woobie; she's [[TheWoobie picked on, abused and neglected as a child]] later on she's [[IronWoobie forced into an arranged marriage]] and must live and take care of a [[StoicWoobie very selfish, spoiled half-sister while not being allowed to be with Ashton, whom she loves more than anything.]]
** George Garforth too, being half-caste and trying to make it through British society.
** Pretty much ''everyone'' gets their share of this, especially [[WarIsHell during the Second Afghan War]].
* {{Women Are Wiser}}: Anjuli is the one to put a stop to the dangerous and utterly absurd plan of Ashton's to have her run away with him. He's ''furious'' about her refusal, but then grudgingly and bitterly comes to realize that she's absolutely right.
* {{The Woobie}}: Ashton's flavours come in TheWoobie, IronWoobie and StoicWoobie. Justified, since life has a bad habit of making him somewhat of a ChewToy.
** Like Ashton, Anjuli suffers with being the Woobie; she's [[TheWoobie picked on, abused and neglected as a child]] later on she's [[IronWoobie forced into an arranged marriage]] and must live and take care of a [[StoicWoobie very selfish, spoiled half-sister while not being allowed to be with Ashton, whom she loves more than anything.]]
** George Garforth too, being half-caste and trying to make it through British society.
** Pretty much ''everyone'' gets their share of this, especially [[WarIsHell during the Second Afghan War]].
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--> Ashton: 'Julie, do you love me?'
--> Anjuli: 'I love you. I have always loved you. I have always been yours and I always will be; and if I had loved you first as a brother, it was not a brother that [[IWillWaitForYou I waited for as I grew up]] and became a woman, but a lover.'
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that to anyone, knowing full well he [[HopelessSuitor has no chance.]]
--> Anjuli: 'I love you. I have always loved you. I have always been yours and I always will be; and if I had loved you first as a brother, it was not a brother that [[IWillWaitForYou I waited for as I grew up]] and became a woman, but a lover.'
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that to anyone, knowing full well he [[HopelessSuitor has no chance.]]
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--> Ashton: '''Ashton''': 'Julie, do you love me?'
-->Anjuli: '''Anjuli''': 'I love you. I have always loved you. I have always been yours and I always will be; and if I had loved you first as a brother, it was not a brother that [[IWillWaitForYou I waited for as I grew up]] and became a woman, but a lover.'
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that toanyone, anyone,]] knowing full well he [[HopelessSuitor has no chance.]]
-->
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that to
* {{Man of Wealth and Taste}}: The sinister [[TheDandy Biji Ram]] wears silken clothes and jewelry over his black heart and adores the finer things in life.
* {{Married to the Job}}: Wally LOVES being a soldier in the Corps of Guides.
* {{Married to the Job}}: Wally LOVES being a soldier in the Corps of Guides.
* {{Mean Brit}}: Every now and then, especially considering the [[TheBritishRaj setting]].
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* {{Period Piece}}: Covering the mid - late 1800's British Raj, the Second Afghan War and mentions of ''loads'' of former (and important) historic dates.
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* {{Nice Guy}}: Wally, SO MUCH.
* {{No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me}}: Almost said word for word by Ashton when he reveals to Anjuli that he's really the Ashok she knew from childhood. To say she's shocked that the British man in front of her is the same 12 year old Indian boy she was so fond of as a child is an understatement.
* {{Old Man Marrying a Child}}: What happens to the 13 year old Shushila when she's betrothed to the much older Maharajah of Bithor. However, for the customs of the era and the country, this was normal and not seen as such.
* {{Only Known By Their Nickname}}: The narration always refers to Ashton as "Ash", a clever balance between his Ashok and Ashton identities, further blurring the lines between who he really is. Walter's always referred to as "[[AffectionateNickname Wally]]".
** Anjuli on the other hand at 18, is revolted at the thought that a man of the Rana's age and physique would ever lay a hand on her. Which is another reason why she [[spoiler: loses her virginity to Ashton, coupled with the fact that she is in love with him.]]
* {{Parental Marriage Veto}}: Belinda's parents (especially the father) towards Ashton (and any young man in general) as it was expected for the young man to devote his youth to the British Army of India and not waste it by getting married and being "burdened" with wife and children. If a girl was to be married, it was to a much older man well out of his youth and already settled.
* {{Penny Among Diamonds}}: George, though he does his best to hide it.
* {{Period Piece}}:Covering An excruciatingly researched and historically accurate fictional story covering the mid - late 1800's British Raj, the Second Afghan War and mentions of ''loads'' of former (and important) historic dates.dates that took over ten years to write and is ''absolutely awesome.''
* {{Plain Jane}}: Anjuli was ''not'' a pretty child. [[SheIsAllGrownUp Later on however...]]
* {{Positive Discrimination}}: Subverted. While the Indian/non-British characters are fleshed out and reoccurring statements of "India should belong and be governed by Indians" are outright stated and discussed, the author does a masterful job of illustrating the ingrained prejudices and racism on ''all'' sides - British, Muslim, Hindu, Pashtun, Mixed-Race, etc. Though the author's love of India and its peoples are apparent, Kaye is still brutally honest in the bigotry, racism and prejudice from the Indian characters to one an another as well as non-Indians - especially in Caste and religious matters where prejudice runs ''rampant''. Essentially, there is no side that ''doesn't'' have some sort of prejudice in their own way - the British and India in general are mirrors of each other in that regard. That is not even covering the sexism and the very inferior status of women in the very much male-dominated Raj, country and overall era - globally!
* {{Pretty Boy}}: George Garfoth is describes as such, especially as a child. This doesn't help him one bit.
* {{No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me}}: Almost said word for word by Ashton when he reveals to Anjuli that he's really the Ashok she knew from childhood. To say she's shocked that the British man in front of her is the same 12 year old Indian boy she was so fond of as a child is an understatement.
* {{Old Man Marrying a Child}}: What happens to the 13 year old Shushila when she's betrothed to the much older Maharajah of Bithor. However, for the customs of the era and the country, this was normal and not seen as such.
* {{Only Known By Their Nickname}}: The narration always refers to Ashton as "Ash", a clever balance between his Ashok and Ashton identities, further blurring the lines between who he really is. Walter's always referred to as "[[AffectionateNickname Wally]]".
** Anjuli on the other hand at 18, is revolted at the thought that a man of the Rana's age and physique would ever lay a hand on her. Which is another reason why she [[spoiler: loses her virginity to Ashton, coupled with the fact that she is in love with him.]]
* {{Parental Marriage Veto}}: Belinda's parents (especially the father) towards Ashton (and any young man in general) as it was expected for the young man to devote his youth to the British Army of India and not waste it by getting married and being "burdened" with wife and children. If a girl was to be married, it was to a much older man well out of his youth and already settled.
* {{Penny Among Diamonds}}: George, though he does his best to hide it.
* {{Period Piece}}:
* {{Plain Jane}}: Anjuli was ''not'' a pretty child. [[SheIsAllGrownUp Later on however...]]
* {{Positive Discrimination}}: Subverted. While the Indian/non-British characters are fleshed out and reoccurring statements of "India should belong and be governed by Indians" are outright stated and discussed, the author does a masterful job of illustrating the ingrained prejudices and racism on ''all'' sides - British, Muslim, Hindu, Pashtun, Mixed-Race, etc. Though the author's love of India and its peoples are apparent, Kaye is still brutally honest in the bigotry, racism and prejudice from the Indian characters to one an another as well as non-Indians - especially in Caste and religious matters where prejudice runs ''rampant''. Essentially, there is no side that ''doesn't'' have some sort of prejudice in their own way - the British and India in general are mirrors of each other in that regard. That is not even covering the sexism and the very inferior status of women in the very much male-dominated Raj, country and overall era - globally!
* {{Pretty Boy}}: George Garfoth is describes as such, especially as a child. This doesn't help him one bit.
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* {{Real Men Love Jesus}}: The devout Irish-Protestant Wally loves the Lord just as much as he loves war. Ashton tends to be much more of a NayTheist. Anjuli in her turn, is pretty much the 1800's version of an atheist - she doesn't believe in any gods and she feels that if they exist, they ignore her pleas to them. Everyone else tends to be either Muslim, Hindu or some form of Christianity. There's even [[YouGottaHaveJews one Jew mentioned!]]
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* {{Scenery Porn}}: There is some truly gorgeous imagery throughout the book. Perhaps that is why there were ''actual tours'' crafted around and to the locations described in the book, due to its popularity.
* {{The Scrappy}}: BELINDA, 100%.
* {{The Scrappy}}: BELINDA, 100%.
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* {{Shrinking Violet}}: As a child, Anjuli was this, being cast off, abused and forgotten by the rest of the servants at Janoo-rani's orders. George Garfoth is implied to be one as a little boy as well.
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* {{Character Development}}: The entire premise of the novel is for Ashton to discover who he truly is: is he Ashok, the British boy raised as an Indian? Is he Ashton, the British man in service to the Raj? Or is he something else entirely? As the book constantly explores the complex themes of race, social customs and identity, this is not an easy resolution. It is made even harder by Ashton's BeingRaisedByNatives backstory. Then there is his "It's not fair!" viewpoint that he's told over and over again to get rid of and that he struggles to change and adapt - which also plays a major part in the run of the story, even up to the ending.
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* {{Character Development}}: The entire premise of the novel is for Ashton to discover who he truly is: is he Ashok, the British boy raised as an Indian? Is he Ashton, the British man in service to the Raj? Or is he something else entirely? As the book constantly explores the complex themes of race, social customs and identity, this is not an easy resolution. It is made even harder by Ashton's BeingRaisedByNatives being RaisedByNatives backstory. Then there is his "It's not fair!" viewpoint that he's told over and over again to get rid of and that he struggles to change and adapt - which also plays a major part in the run of the story, even up to the ending.
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* {{Dark and Troubled Past}}: Not everything, but from the time Ashton goes to work and then later on, become a playmate for the spoiled prince Lalji of the Palace of Winds until his escape to save his own life some years later. Not to mention the fact that Ashton didn't even know he was actually '' white and British'' until he was 12 caused ''serious identity problems for him that continue until the very end of the book.'' For more information, see the RaisedByNatives entry below.
* {{Deathbed Confession}}: While it doesn't happen on a bed, the dying Sita finally reveals the true parentage of Ashton who spent the last 12 years of his life believing he was Indian only to be told he was wrong. She even pleads as her LastRequest for Ashton to go and find an English person who will help him find whatever family he has left and regain his place in the British world.
* {{Deathbed Confession}}: While it doesn't happen on a bed, the dying Sita finally reveals the true parentage of Ashton who spent the last 12 years of his life believing he was Indian only to be told he was wrong. She even pleads as her LastRequest for Ashton to go and find an English person who will help him find whatever family he has left and regain his place in the British world.
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* {{Dirty Foreigner}}: How some of the British see the Indians (most notably, Belinda and her mother) - even though they're in ''their'' country. On the other hand, plenty of Indians/Muslims feel this way to ''each other'' depending on location/Caste/skin colour. It really turns into the pot calling the kettle black.
* {{Dirty Old Man}}: Crossing over with later on with DepravedBisexual in regard to Shushila, the Rana of Bhithor's former preference was for men and young boys.
* {{Dirty Old Man}}: Crossing over with later on with DepravedBisexual in regard to Shushila, the Rana of Bhithor's former preference was for men and young boys.
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* {{Driven to Suicide}}: Thanks to [[spoiler: Belinda for viciously outing his MixedRace ancestry, George bites the bullet. later on [[spoiler: Ashton of all people seriously thinks about doing this when Anjuli parts from him to marry the Rana of Bhithor.]] Moments later, he's disgusted at himself for such weakness.
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* {{Fat Bastard}}: The Maharajah of Bithor who is as disgusting as he is evil.
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* {{Foreign Cuss Word}}: In an amusing scene, Ashton swears in an Indian language when in the company of British army-men - the only person who picks up on how foul what he said is an Indian servant who is shocked. There is also another scene where he's speaking to Anjuli in Hindi after she sneaks out to meet him the same night they meet for the first time years later - [[WhatTheHellHero Ashton swears and calls her a bitch]] in English after she accuses him of being frightened that they would be discovered - ''not'' one of Ashton's better moments.
* {{Giggling Villain}}: Ugh, Biju Ram and it's ''creepy''.
* {{Good Looking Privates}}: Of course.
* {{Giggling Villain}}: Ugh, Biju Ram and it's ''creepy''.
* {{Good Looking Privates}}: Of course.
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* {{The Gunslinger}}: Ashton's pretty damn handy with his rifle and [[ImprobableAimingSkills has excellent aim]]. Who takes the cake however with their [[TheQuickDraw superb skills]] and their [[ImprobableAimingSkills perfect, ''impeccable'' aim]] is the hunter, Bukta.
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* {{Happily Married}}: Ashton's parents were surprisingly this, despite a large [[MayDecemberRomance age gap]] between them and a very unconventional marriage for the 1800's. Later on, [[spoiler: Ashton and Anjuli, though it starts off rocky; later, they're parted for a while due to Ashton's involvement in the Second Afghanistan War but at the end of the book, leave to start their lives together in peace.]]
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* {{Hopeless Suitor}}: George for Belinda which turns out HORRIBLY. Later on, [[spoiler: Wally for Anjuli; he doesn't even ''try'', considering he knows Ashton and Anjuli only have eyes for each other.]] He's happy for them nonetheless.
* {{Hot Blooded}}: Ashton, sometimes - much to his own frustration and the massive annoyance and condemnation of his superiors.
* {{Ho Yay}}: Some other soldiers - especially the older ones - think that Ashton and Wally are "too close" and that their relationship is "improper" and "odd".
* {{Incorruptible Pure Pureness}}: Wally. [[spoiler: Even until the end.]]
* {{Hot Blooded}}: Ashton, sometimes - much to his own frustration and the massive annoyance and condemnation of his superiors.
* {{Ho Yay}}: Some other soldiers - especially the older ones - think that Ashton and Wally are "too close" and that their relationship is "improper" and "odd".
* {{Incorruptible Pure Pureness}}: Wally. [[spoiler: Even until the end.]]
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* {{Killed Off For Real}}: Several important characters throughout, but most shockingly and sadly, [[spoiler: Wally]] at the end of the book.
* {{Knight in Sour Armor}}: The increasing mess of the plan and actual, disasterous attempt to [[spoiler: rescue Anjuli and Shushila after their husband, the Maharajah of Bithor dies]] makes Ashton and pretty much everyone else involved in said rescue, become this.
* {{Lady and Knight}}: With Anjuli the beautiful Indian princess and Ashton, the British soldier. Also a mixture of BodyguardCrush as Ashton is the soldier hired to escort the brides-to-be, Shushila and Anjuli, to their new home.
* {{Like Brother and Sister}}: Ashton felt this way towards Anjuli for years as a little boy. He thought she felt the same too - [[PuppyLove she didn't.]]
* {{Living Emotional Crutch}}: Of course Ashton and Anjuli - without each other, they can never be happy. {{Justified}}, as they're [[OneTrueLove two halves of the same whole]] and it is shown in the book just how well suited they are for one another.
* {{Knight in Sour Armor}}: The increasing mess of the plan and actual, disasterous attempt to [[spoiler: rescue Anjuli and Shushila after their husband, the Maharajah of Bithor dies]] makes Ashton and pretty much everyone else involved in said rescue, become this.
* {{Lady and Knight}}: With Anjuli the beautiful Indian princess and Ashton, the British soldier. Also a mixture of BodyguardCrush as Ashton is the soldier hired to escort the brides-to-be, Shushila and Anjuli, to their new home.
* {{Like Brother and Sister}}: Ashton felt this way towards Anjuli for years as a little boy. He thought she felt the same too - [[PuppyLove she didn't.]]
* {{Living Emotional Crutch}}: Of course Ashton and Anjuli - without each other, they can never be happy. {{Justified}}, as they're [[OneTrueLove two halves of the same whole]] and it is shown in the book just how well suited they are for one another.
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* {{Love Confession}}: After he kisses her for the first time in the caves, Ashton pulls back nervously to ask if Anjuli truly loves him. He [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming gets this as a response]].
--> Ashton: 'Julie, do you love me?'
--> Anjuli: 'I love you. I have always loved you. I have always been yours and I always will be; and if I had loved you first as a brother, it was not a brother that [[IWillWaitForYou I waited for as I grew up]] and became a woman, but a lover.'
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that to anyone, knowing full well he [[HopelessSuitor has no chance.]]
* {{Love Hurts}}: Especially when you're a British soldier who is madly in love with an Indian princess.
* {{A Man is Always Eager}}: After they kiss in the caves, Ashton has to restrain himself from having his way with Anjuli. Then again, in his situation, it's hard to blame him.
--> Ashton: 'Julie, do you love me?'
--> Anjuli: 'I love you. I have always loved you. I have always been yours and I always will be; and if I had loved you first as a brother, it was not a brother that [[IWillWaitForYou I waited for as I grew up]] and became a woman, but a lover.'
* {{Love at First Sight}}: Anjuli to Ashton since she was a child and then again after meeting him (though she is unaware that he is the same Ashok of childhood.) When he's reunited with her after all those years apart, Ashton in turn, feels this way to Anjuli though it only dawns upon him when he comforts her after revealing that he is indeed the Ashok she remembers. Later on this happens to [[spoiler: Wally of all people, who falls in love with Anjuli the moment he lays eyes on her - not that he ever reveals that to anyone, knowing full well he [[HopelessSuitor has no chance.]]
* {{Love Hurts}}: Especially when you're a British soldier who is madly in love with an Indian princess.
* {{A Man is Always Eager}}: After they kiss in the caves, Ashton has to restrain himself from having his way with Anjuli. Then again, in his situation, it's hard to blame him.
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* {{Agent Peacock}}: The vain, flamboyant, deadly and utterly evil [[AffablyEvil Biju Ram]]. Physically however, he's a SissyVillain who cannot stand pain - mentally, he's ''incredibly'' vicious.
* {{Anti Hero}}: Ashton, whose brooding, serious personality matches his dark looks and complex past.
* {{Ascended Extra}}: Several of the background characters or just passing names become ''much'' more valuable to the plot later on.
* {{Beauty Equals Goodness}}: ''Completely averted'' with Janoo-rani, Belinda and then [[spoiler: Shushila]]. Anjuli usually is this, though she has a few darker moments.
* {{Beauty Equals Goodness}}: ''Completely averted'' with Janoo-rani, Belinda and then [[spoiler: Shushila]]. Anjuli usually is this, though she has a few darker moments.
* {{The British Empire}}: No, [[SarcasmMode really?]]
* {{British Stuffiness}}: Every now and then.
* {{Brooding Boy Gentle Girl}}: Usually Ashton and Anjuli, though sometimes it is reversed.
* {{Brown Eyes}}: The wide, golden-brown, bog-water colour of Anjuli's eyes which not only enchant Ashton, but several others as well by their beauty.
* {{British Stuffiness}}: Every now and then.
* {{Brooding Boy Gentle Girl}}: Usually Ashton and Anjuli, though sometimes it is reversed.
* {{Brown Eyes}}: The wide, golden-brown, bog-water colour of Anjuli's eyes which not only enchant Ashton, but several others as well by their beauty.
* {{The Captain}}: When he's made to be the British escort for Anjuli and Shushila's bridal party, Ashton's rank is elevated from Lieutenant to Captain for this particular mission.
* {{Character Development}}: The entire premise of the novel is for Ashton to discover who he truly is: is he Ashok, the British boy raised as an Indian? Is he Ashton, the British man in service to the Raj? Or is he something else entirely? As the book constantly explores the complex themes of race, social customs and identity, this is not an easy resolution. It is made even harder by Ashton's BeingRaisedByNatives backstory. Then there is his "It's not fair!" viewpoint that he's told over and over again to get rid of and that he struggles to change and adapt - which also plays a major part in the run of the story, even up to the ending.
** Wally too undergoes this to some extent: he's first seen as this very loyal, but also happy-go-lucky, not-too-serious young man. Some years later, while still cheerful and loyal, he sheds the more juvenile aspects of his personality, and becomes much more serious and rather less of the WideEyedIdealist he was once.
** There is a difference between the Anjuli of the past- the shy, frightened and cry-baby and starved-for-affection little girl of childhood and then the somber, quiet and usually reserved young woman who hides a passionate heart. Later on after [[spoiler: she and Ashton are married,]] Anjuli matures further into a strong, dependable young woman who, though still quiet and peaceful, is warm, loving, firm-willed and utterly loyal.
* {{Character Development}}: The entire premise of the novel is for Ashton to discover who he truly is: is he Ashok, the British boy raised as an Indian? Is he Ashton, the British man in service to the Raj? Or is he something else entirely? As the book constantly explores the complex themes of race, social customs and identity, this is not an easy resolution. It is made even harder by Ashton's BeingRaisedByNatives backstory. Then there is his "It's not fair!" viewpoint that he's told over and over again to get rid of and that he struggles to change and adapt - which also plays a major part in the run of the story, even up to the ending.
** Wally too undergoes this to some extent: he's first seen as this very loyal, but also happy-go-lucky, not-too-serious young man. Some years later, while still cheerful and loyal, he sheds the more juvenile aspects of his personality, and becomes much more serious and rather less of the WideEyedIdealist he was once.
** There is a difference between the Anjuli of the past- the shy, frightened and cry-baby and starved-for-affection little girl of childhood and then the somber, quiet and usually reserved young woman who hides a passionate heart. Later on after [[spoiler: she and Ashton are married,]] Anjuli matures further into a strong, dependable young woman who, though still quiet and peaceful, is warm, loving, firm-willed and utterly loyal.
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* {{Childhood Friend Romance}}: What eventually happens to Anjuli and Ashton - on her part, she never stopped loving him despite not seeing or contacting him for years. For Ashton, it starts very soon after they meet again.
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* {{Childhood Friend Romance}}: What eventually happens to In a very touching example, Anjuli and towards Ashton - on (then known as "Ashok") who was the only person who truly cared for her part, and treated her with affection, as she never stopped loving him despite not seeing or contacting him was ill-treated by almost everyone else. After Ashton escapes the palace, this turns into PatientChildhoodLoveInterest for years. For Anjuli for ''years''.
** Later on, Anjuli triumphs as the [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Victorious Childhood Friend]] towards Ashton,it starts very soon after who falls for her almost from the moment they meet again.again as adults.
** Later on, Anjuli triumphs as the [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Victorious Childhood Friend]] towards Ashton,
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* {{Cool Old Lady}}: The wise, tolerant and understanding Mrs. Viccary, an older woman who befriends Ashton, even becoming his private confidante. Their friendship is based on the fact that she, (like him), loves India and is educated and respectful of its customs and its people.
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* {{The Raj}}: Obviously.
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* {{Blondes are Evil}}: While she isn't "evil", Belinda is still a ''total bitch'', being very vain, cruel, shallow, ill-tempered and a gold-digger to boot. Not to mention it was her actions that led to [[spoiler: the mixed-blood George's]]: suicide. The plus side of all this is that Ashton saw her true colors and got over her after [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome grandly telling her what he thought of her.]] Wally of course, thoroughly averts this.
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* {{Arranged Marriage}}: What Shushila and Anjuli have waiting for them, courtesy of their brother, to the Rana of Bhithor.
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* {{Arranged Marriage}}: What [[spoiler: Shushila and Anjuli have waiting for them, courtesy of their brother, to the Rana of Bhithor. Bhithor.]]
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* {{Dwindling Party}}: Several times: when Ashton and company go on a three year mission to catch a thief on the Frontier; when Ashton and company attempt to rescue Anjuli from suttee after the Maharajah dies and finally when Ashton, Wally and their fellow comrades fight in the Second Afghan War.
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* {{Dwindling Party}}: Several times: when Ashton and company go on a three year mission to catch a thief on the Frontier; when Ashton and company attempt to [[spoiler: rescue Anjuli and Shushila from suttee after the Maharajah dies Rana dies]] and finally when Ashton, Wally and their fellow comrades fight in the Second Afghan War.
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* {{Have I Mentioned That I am Heterosexual Today}}: Briefly stated while talking, it is mentioned in conversation that due to lack of women folk when out in the wilderness of India, soldiers indulged their needs with younger boys or teenagers. Ashton claims he simply cannot understand how some men resorted to this.
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* {{Have I Mentioned That I am Heterosexual Today}}: Briefly stated while talking, it is mentioned in conversation that due to lack of women folk when out in the wilderness of India, British and Indian soldiers indulged their needs with younger boys or teenagers.teenagers as there were no prostitutes around. Ashton claims he simply cannot understand how some men resorted to this.
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* {{Historical Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life ''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton'', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
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* {{Historical Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life ''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton'', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was [[spoiler: killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23. 23.]]
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* {{Hooker With a Heart of Gold}}: Said to be the prettiest girl in the Guides' part of India and one rather popular with the British men stationed there. Ashton knows of her as well, perhaps hinting he too has been subject to her charms in the past.
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* {{Hooker With a Heart of Gold}}: Said to be the prettiest girl in the Guides' part of India and one rather popular with the British men stationed there. Ashton knows of her as well, perhaps hinting he too has been subject to her charms in the past. It is outright stated that he's paid for courtesans in the past as well.
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* {{Psychic Dreams for Everyone}}: Over and over again, Ashton dreams of himself riding for his life on a horse with a girl sitting behind him with long black hair, urging him to ride faster and get away from those who pursue them. Everything in this dream comes to pass eventually. And the actual moment is ''anything'' but dreamy.
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* {{Psychic Dreams for Everyone}}: Over and over again, Ashton dreams of himself riding for his life on a horse with a girl sitting behind him with long black hair, urging him to ride faster and get away from those who pursue them. Everything [[spoiler: ''Everything'' in this dream comes to pass eventually. And the actual moment is ''anything'' but dreamy.dreamy and turns into a merciless nightmare.]]
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* {{Rescue Sex}}: After he kisses her while they're trapped in the cave during the sandstorm, Ashton wants nothing more than to do this with Anjuli. However, being a gentleman and knowing she is a virgin, he asks if she loves him (thereby also implying consent). She says yes, and willingly goes along with him. Ashton is even considerate enough to warn her later on that, "he was going to hurt her".
** However, Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.
** However, Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.
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* {{Rescue Sex}}: [[spoiler: After he kisses her while they're trapped in the cave during the sandstorm, Ashton wants nothing more than to do this with Anjuli. However, being a gentleman and knowing she is a virgin, he asks if she loves him (thereby also implying consent). She says yes, and willingly goes along with him. Ashton is even considerate enough to warn her later on that, "he was going to hurt her".
her".]]
** However, [[spoiler: Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.]]
** However, [[spoiler: Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.]]
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* {{Smooch of Victory}}: After spending weeks (perhaps over a month) with each other as Ashton is the British soldier in charge of leading the bridal party to Bhithor and having secret (totally platonic) meetings at night recalling their childhood together, Ashton, Anjuli and a few others go riding. However, a massive sandstorm swells up, Ashton and Anjuli are separated from the rest and seek shelter in a large cave. They get separated from each other while inside the pitch-blackness and Ashton, fearing that Anjuli has injured herself calls out desperately for her. She answers, stumbles literally into his arms and Ashton (who by this time is very much in love with her), kisses her both in thankfulness and desperate want.
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* {{Smooch of Victory}}: After spending weeks (perhaps over a month) with each other as Ashton is the British soldier in charge of leading the bridal party to Bhithor and having secret (totally platonic) meetings at night recalling their childhood together, Ashton, Anjuli and a few others go riding. However, a massive sandstorm swells up, Ashton and Anjuli are separated from the rest and seek shelter in a large cave. They get separated from each other while inside the pitch-blackness and Ashton, fearing that Anjuli has injured herself calls out desperately for her. She answers, stumbles literally into his arms and Ashton (who by this time is very much in love with her), kisses her both in thankfulness and desperate want.
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* {{Tall Dark and Handsome}}: Ashton always was on the verge of this, but as a full-grown adult he achieves this with his swarthy, brooding looks, dark hair and tall, lean-muscled build. Several other men in the book are this as well both among the British and the Natives of India. Zarin, George, Sarji and the Pashtuns for example.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, but especially the final pages, leading up to that BittersweetEnding.
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli.
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down and utterly ruins his life in the process.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, but especially the final pages, leading up to that BittersweetEnding.
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli.
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down and utterly ruins his life in the process.
to:
* {{Tall Dark and Handsome}}: Ashton always was on the verge of this, but as a full-grown adult he achieves this with his swarthy, brooding looks, dark hair and tall, lean-muscled build. Several other men in the book are this as well both among the British and the Natives natives of India. Zarin, George, Sarji and the Pashtuns in general for example.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, butespecially ''especially'' the final pages, leading up to that painfully BittersweetEnding.
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally [[spoiler: falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli. \n]]
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down andutterly ''utterly ruins his life life'' in the process.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, but
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally [[spoiler: falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli.
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down and
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* {{Would Hit a Girl}}: Ashton - but only when absolutely necessary and to stop a panic attack/mental breakdown.
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* {{Would Hit a Girl}}: Ashton - but only when absolutely necessary and to stop a panic attack/mental breakdown. He is ''very'' tempted to raise his hands against Belinda after he finds out what she did to George and her true nature in general.
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* {{Memento MacGuffin}}: As children, Anjuli gave Ashton a small, cheap mother-of-pearl fish that he split in two on the night he escaped with Sita from the palace. Ashton split the fish in two, keeping one piece for herself and the other half for Ashton "to remember him by". Years later, the fish is how Anjuli realizes that Ashton is the same Ashok from childhood.
to:
* {{Memento MacGuffin}}: As children, Anjuli gave Ashton a small, cheap mother-of-pearl fish that he split in two on the night he escaped with Sita from the palace. Ashton split the fish in two, keeping one piece for herself and the other half for Ashton Anjuli "to remember him by". Years later, the fish is how Anjuli realizes that Ashton is the same Ashok from childhood - and vice versa, this is what cements Ashton's idea that Anjuli is the same girl from his childhood.
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* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy". The narration even remarks that Ashton makes an attractive girl.
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* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy". The narration even remarks that Ashton makes an attractive girl.a "very good girl", draped in one of Sita's saris and with some brass ornaments.
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[[caption-width-right:244:The book which started it all.]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpm.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The 1984 mini-series.]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpm.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The 1984 mini-series.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The
[[caption-width-right:244:''The 1984
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[[caption-width-right:225:The stage-adaptation, featuring Ashton and Anjuli.]]
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpb.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The book which started it all.]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The book which started it all.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The
[[caption-width-right:244:The book which started it all.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The book.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The book.book which started it all.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The mini-series]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:The mini-series]]
1984 mini-series.]]
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpp.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225:The stage-adaptation, featuring Ashton and Anjuli.]]
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpp.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225:The stage-adaptation, featuring Ashton and Anjuli.]]
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* {{But Not Too Black}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda ruined his chances.
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* {{But Not Too Black}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda [[AlphaBitch Belinda]] ruined his chances.
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* {{Heterosexual Life Partners}}: Ashton and Wally are the very best of friends - there is even a scene in the book where their close relationship is commentated upon as being "unnatural". Ashton and [[spoiler: Zarin]] were once this, but in the last two sub-books of the novel, they come to a mutual understanding that their relationship and personal ideals/views have changed and they part, though there is a HopeSpot speculation that perhaps one day in the distant future, they will meet again.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpm.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The mini-series]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The mini-series]]
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfpb.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The book.]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The book.]]
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* {{A Boy and His X}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly tragic end.]]
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil".
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil".
to:
* {{A Boy and His X}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly brutally tragic end.end and causes Ashton to break down entirely.]]
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil". It's ''hilarious''.
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil". It's ''hilarious''.
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* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy".
to:
* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy". The narration even remarks that Ashton makes an attractive girl.
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Born at the foot of the Himalyas, the orphaned British child Ashton Pelham-Martyn is raised as an Indian by his ayah, Sita who cares for him like her own son. When his true ethnicity is revealed to him, he is taken back to England to be raised and molded into a proper Englishman, where his identity becomes a burden that is questioned time and time again by himself and others as he struggles to discover who Ashton truly is and is not.
Constantly at odds with both his peers and the world around him, Ashton realizes that it is both a blessing and a curse to see and understand multiple viewpoints and to sympathize with more than one outlook in a world ruled and dictated by prejudice from all sides.
Both a historical, political masterpiece and a stunning, romantic fairytale of a world and era long gone, ''The Far Pavilions'' remains a marvelous marriage between the East and West; a wedding of two different cultures and the peoples of and by them.
Constantly at odds with both his peers and the world around him, Ashton realizes that it is both a blessing and a curse to see and understand multiple viewpoints and to sympathize with more than one outlook in a world ruled and dictated by prejudice from all sides.
Both a historical, political masterpiece and a stunning, romantic fairytale of a world and era long gone, ''The Far Pavilions'' remains a marvelous marriage between the East and West; a wedding of two different cultures and the peoples of and by them.
to:
Born at the foot of the Himalyas, the orphaned British child Ashton Pelham-Martyn is raised as an Indian by his ayah, Sita who cares for him like her own son. When his true ethnicity is revealed to him, he is taken back to England to be raised and molded into a proper Englishman, where his identity becomes a burden that is questioned time and time again by himself and others as he struggles to discover who Ashton truly is and is not. \n\n Constantly at odds with both his peers and the world around him, Ashton realizes that it is both a blessing and a curse to see and understand multiple viewpoints and to sympathize with more than one outlook in a world ruled and dictated by prejudice from all sides.
Both At once a historical, political masterpiece and a stunning, romantic fairytale of a world and era long gone, ''The Far Pavilions'' remains a marvelous marriage between the East and West; a wedding of two different cultures and the peoples of and by them.
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-->''The Far Pavilions'' displays the use of the following Tropes:
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* {{Coming of Age Tale}}: The story starts with Ashton literally taking his first breaths as a newborn baby and follows him along for over twenty years of his life.
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* {{Coming of Age Tale}}: Story}}: The story starts with Ashton literally actually taking his first breaths as a newborn baby and follows him along for over twenty years of his life.
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* {{Historical Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
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* {{Historical Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter ''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', Hamilton'', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
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** Several other real-life historical figures are mentioned though they don't actually make an appearance.
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* {{Shown Their Work}}: M.M. Kaye, the author, grew up and ''loved'' in India and lived many years of her life there - it shows beautifully in her writing. While her story is fictional, the setting is painstakingly researched; the country, laws, rules, geographical location, land-type, buildings, transportation, manners, social customs (both British and Indian), war are all ''accurately described''. Even such things as clothing, medical treatment, food, wording/slang of the day are written flawlessly. And M.M Kaye not only keeps this up for every change of scenery, land and location (even by boat!) but continues for ''over 1,000 pages''. [[ShownTheirWork Showing their work indeed.]]
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* {{A Boy and His}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly tragic end.]]
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* {{A Boy and His}}: His X}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly tragic end.]]
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* {{But Not Too Brown}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda ruined his chances.
to:
* {{But Not Too Brown}}: Black}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda ruined his chances.
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* {{Grey Eyes}}: Ashton, again something he inherited from his mother.
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* {{Grey Eyes}}: Ashton, again something he inherited from his mother. The illusion of their changing colour in certain lights is symbolic of his turbulent emotions and his torn loyalties both to the British Raj and India - and also himself.
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* {{Historical-Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
to:
* {{Historical-Domain {{Historical Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
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* {{Raised by Natives}}: A truly '''EPIC''' example: His mother having died due to complications of childbirth, Ashton is then taken care of by his absentminded father, Professor Hilary, his father's friend, the retired officer Akbar Khan and Sita the wife of Hilary's groom - the latter two of whom love him as their own son and spoil him. Ashton spends the first 18 months of his life among the mountains and by the time he is four years old, doesn't speak a word of English - only the local dialects of which he picks up a lot, having acquired the talent of languages from his father, the Professor. He rarely wears European clothing, and dresses like the locals, passing as them as well due to the fair-skin of the Indians around him. When the camp is struck by an epidemic of cholera, his father Hilary, Akbar Khan and Sita's husband (among many others) are all taken by it leaving Sita to take care of not-even 5 year old Ashton when the rest die. Though they leave the camp, the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 (The Sepoy Mutiny) prevents Sita from returning Ashton to his distant English relatives - they escape the bloody situation and find refuge in the kingdom of Gulkote where Ashton continues to be raised as an Indian child, totally forgetting that he is in fact, a white British boy. Known as "Ashok" (Ash), Ashton is eventually hired as a servant boy and later, companion for the crown prince of Gulkote - it is here that he meets and befriends the mistreated princess, baby Anjuli who grows very close to him, along with Zarin and his father Koda Dad Khan. Some years pass and Ashton discovers a murderous plot against the prince, but discovers that he himself will be killed for the discovery. To save his life, he is urged to flee with Sita. He parts from Anjuli and the rest and escapes from the city. Sita dies shortly afterwards, but not before she gives Ashton the long withheld information of his true lineage, the documentation and instructions to find his relatives. This Ashton does and at the age of 12 returns to England to spend the next several years in constant opposition and confusion with everyone. He is sent to boarding school (where he excels though without making any friends) to be forcefully molded into "a proper British man" with a "proper British way of thinking". He returns to India as a young man in late summer, 1871.
to:
* {{Raised by Natives}}: A truly '''EPIC''' example: [[spoiler: His mother having died due to complications of childbirth, Ashton is then taken care of by his absentminded father, Professor Hilary, his father's friend, the retired officer Akbar Khan and Sita the wife of Hilary's groom - the latter two of whom love him as their own son and spoil him. Ashton spends the first 18 months of his life among the mountains and by the time he is four years old, doesn't speak a word of English - only the local dialects of which he picks up a lot, having acquired the talent of languages from his father, the Professor. He rarely wears European clothing, and dresses like the locals, passing as them as well due to the fair-skin of the Indians around him. When the camp is struck by an epidemic of cholera, his father Hilary, Akbar Khan and Sita's husband (among many others) are all taken by it leaving Sita to take care of not-even 5 year old Ashton when the rest die. Though they leave the camp, the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 (The Sepoy Mutiny) prevents Sita from returning Ashton to his distant English relatives - they escape the bloody situation and find refuge in the kingdom of Gulkote where Ashton continues to be raised as an Indian child, totally forgetting that he is in fact, a white British boy. Known as "Ashok" (Ash), Ashton is eventually hired as a servant boy and later, companion for the crown prince of Gulkote - it is here that he meets and befriends the mistreated princess, baby Anjuli who grows very close to him, along with Zarin and his father Koda Dad Khan. Some years pass and Ashton discovers a murderous plot against the prince, but discovers that he himself will be killed for the discovery. To save his life, he is urged to flee with Sita. He parts from Anjuli and the rest and escapes from the city. Sita dies shortly afterwards, but not before she gives Ashton the long withheld information of his true lineage, the documentation and instructions to find his relatives. This Ashton does and at the age of 12 returns to England to spend the next several years in constant opposition and confusion with everyone. He is sent to boarding school (where he excels though without making any friends) to be forcefully molded into "a proper British man" with a "proper British way of thinking". He ]] Ashton returns to India as a young man in late summer, 1871.
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--> "...India and its peoples; not the British India of cantonments and Clubs, or the artificial world of hill stations and horse shows, but that other India: that mixture of glamour and tawdriness, viciousness and nobility. A land full of gods and gold and famine. Ugly as a rotting corpse and beautiful beyond belief …” - '''The Far Pavilions'''
The monumental masterwork of 'British author ''M. M. Kaye''' that took over 10 years to write, '''The Far Pavilions'' was published in 1978 to worldwide fame; becoming an immediate and instant global best-seller as well as M.M. Kaye's most famous and beloved work.
The monumental masterwork of 'British author ''M. M. Kaye''' that took over 10 years to write, '''The Far Pavilions'' was published in 1978 to worldwide fame; becoming an immediate and instant global best-seller as well as M.M. Kaye's most famous and beloved work.
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The monumental masterwork of
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--> "...India and its peoples; not the British India of cantonments and Clubs, or the artificial world of hill stations and horse shows, but that other India: that mixture of glamour and tawdriness, viciousness and nobility. A land full of gods and gold and famine. Ugly as a rotting corpse and beautiful beyond belief …” - '''The Far Pavilions'''
The monumental masterwork of 'British author ''M. M. Kaye''' that took over 10 years to write, '''The Far Pavilions'' was published in 1978 to worldwide fame; becoming an immediate and instant global best-seller as well as M.M. Kaye's most famous and beloved work.
Spanning over twenty of the 19th century's most turbulent years in India, it is a lush, sweeping story of one man struggling to find who he truly is amid the triumph and tribulations of his life set against both a British India and an ancient civilization slowly but surely turning towards the modern era. A book of love and war, prejudice and pride, courage and cruelty, honor and betrayal and the unrelenting march of time that slows down for no one.
Born at the foot of the Himalyas, the orphaned British child Ashton Pelham-Martyn is raised as an Indian by his ayah, Sita who cares for him like her own son. When his true ethnicity is revealed to him, he is taken back to England to be raised and molded into a proper Englishman, where his identity becomes a burden that is questioned time and time again by himself and others as he struggles to discover who Ashton truly is and is not.
Constantly at odds with both his peers and the world around him, Ashton realizes that it is both a blessing and a curse to see and understand multiple viewpoints and to sympathize with more than one outlook in a world ruled and dictated by prejudice from all sides.
Both a historical, political masterpiece and a stunning, romantic fairytale of a world and era long gone, ''The Far Pavilions'' remains a marvelous marriage between the East and West; a wedding of two different cultures and the peoples of and by them.
The book is divided into eight sub-books starting with Ashton's childhood and progressing all the way to his inevitable involvement of the Second Afghan War (1878 - 1880) - the climax and ending of the entire novel:
'''Book 1''' - ''The Twig is Bent''
'''Book 2''' - ''Belinda''
'''Book 3''' - ''World out of Time''
'''Book 4''' - ''Bhithor''
'''Book 5''' - ''Paradise of Fools''
'''Book 6''' - ''Juli''
'''Book 7''' - ''My Brother Jonathon''
'''Book 8''' - ''The Land of Cain''
A truly monumental achievement, the British answer to America's ''Literature/Gone With the Wind'' or Russia's ''Literature/War and Peace'', M.M Kaye's The Far Pavilions is the moving, passionate and utterly epic tale of a life lost to the memory of a history book and the troubled man caught time and time again between its pages.
Upon release, the book was so popular that that it caused travel agents to devise tours of the locations featured in the book. Unfortunately, the book seems to have faded from most public memory, though when read it continues to be as beloved and enjoyed as ever.
The book also inspired a 1984 massively popular mini-series adaptation and in 2005 a stage production musical. It was adapted again this time in the form of a Radio Drama in 2011.
It '''desperately needs a modern adaptation''' to re-introduce it to the public once again.
----
-->''The Far Pavilions'' displays the use of the following Tropes:
* {{A Boy and His}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly tragic end.]]
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil".
* {{Affectionate Nickname}}: Ashton is "Ash", Anjuli is called "Juli" (by Ashton) and "Kairi-baba". Then there is "Wally" (Walter).
* {{Alpha Bitch}}: Janoo-rani obviously and then Belinda is revealed to be this. Later on Shushila, dear god.
* {{Ambiguously Brown}}: The fully white Ashton, is sometimes mistaken for this with his swarthy complexion which he inherited from his mother who was an olive-skinned English beauty. This works in Ashton's favor almost always, as it allows him to pass as Indian/non-European several times in the book - interestingly, he's actually mentioned to be more tanned/swarthy than the fair-skinned Indians of the North/in general, the pale-skinned Muslims and Pashtuns/Pathans.
* {{Anyone Can Die}}: It is a book with over 1000 pages, covering ''years'' - what else do you expect?
* {{Arranged Marriage}}: What Shushila and Anjuli have waiting for them, courtesy of their brother, to the Rana of Bhithor.
* {{Bittersweet Ending}}: Might even be a DownerEnding for some! [[spoiler: Wally dies, Ashton parts from all his old companions and friends including Zarin for good and he (Ashton) can and will never return to the the British or Indian society he's known all his life. He's finally found a place where he can truly be himself, but had to leave every single person behind (besides Anjuli) to achieve that. The plus side is that Ashton and Anjuli end up together, though whether or not their found their "kingdom" is left open.]]
* {{Bitch in Sheeps Clothing}}: The young, pretty and very vicious Belinda. Later on the incredibly manipulative Shushila who hides her evil behind her extraordinary beauty. Averted with Janoo-rani who is just an outright evil bitch.
* {{Blondes are Evil}}: While she isn't "evil", Belinda is still a ''total bitch'', being very vain, cruel, shallow, ill-tempered and a gold-digger to boot. Not to mention it was her actions that led to [[spoiler: the mixed-blood George's]]: suicide. The plus side of all this is that Ashton saw her true colors and got over her after [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome grandly telling her what he thought of her.]] Wally of course, thoroughly averts this.
* {{Brainy Brunette}}: Ashton is highly intelligent, speaking, reading and writing in several languages; he is also a cunning and very shrewd soldier and an excellent strategist. Anjuli is this as well, despite having no formal education whatsoever, remains sharp and observant. Later on [[spoiler: after she and Ashton are married]], she quickly picks up English when he teaches her.
* {{But Not Too Brown}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda ruined his chances.
* {{Byronic Hero}}: The dark, brooding and emotionally complex Ashton who never truly fits in anywhere.
* {{Child of Two Worlds}}: Ashton could be the poster boy of this, being a white British boy who did not know of his British blood until he was 12 and had spent all his former years raised in Indian culture and speaking the language. Needless to say, his sudden uprooting and forceful induction into British culture and the UK came as quite the culture shock. He spends almost the entirety of the book struggling to balance his two cultural sides, while trying to find out who Ashton truly is as a person.
* {{Childhood Friend Romance}}: What eventually happens to Anjuli and Ashton - on her part, she never stopped loving him despite not seeing or contacting him for years. For Ashton, it starts very soon after they meet again.
* {{Coming of Age Tale}}: The story starts with Ashton literally taking his first breaths as a newborn baby and follows him along for over twenty years of his life.
* {{Death by Childbirth}}: Ashton's mother succumbs to this, having miscalculated her due date and giving birth to Ashton practically in the middle of nowhere, in the crest of a pass in the Himalayas. This proves fatal, as she dies from complications due to his birth and the cold, dusty wind just a few days later.
* {{Doorstopper}}: Reprints of the novel clock in at over 900 pages. The original edition was over a 1000, and some editions divide the book into two individual copies. Not to mention that for all editions, the print is rather on the small side. The book itself is split into several sub-books, each over a hundred pages long.
* {{Dwindling Party}}: Several times: when Ashton and company go on a three year mission to catch a thief on the Frontier; when Ashton and company attempt to rescue Anjuli from suttee after the Maharajah dies and finally when Ashton, Wally and their fellow comrades fight in the Second Afghan War.
* {{Epic}}: On the scale of Russia's ''War and Peace'' and America's ''Gone With the Wind'', which is no small feat by any means.
* {{First Girl Wins}}: It was inevitable that Ashton would end up with Anjuli, whom he has known since she was just a baby and he a young boy, but the way the author approaches this makes for both a unique, moving and captivating read.
* {{Grey Eyes}}: Ashton, again something he inherited from his mother.
* {{Hair of gold heart of gold}}: Oh ''Wally!''
* {{Have I Mentioned That I am Heterosexual Today}}: Briefly stated while talking, it is mentioned in conversation that due to lack of women folk when out in the wilderness of India, soldiers indulged their needs with younger boys or teenagers. Ashton claims he simply cannot understand how some men resorted to this.
* {{Historical-Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
** Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari also makes an appearance in the final two sections of the book.
* {{Hooker With a Heart of Gold}}: Said to be the prettiest girl in the Guides' part of India and one rather popular with the British men stationed there. Ashton knows of her as well, perhaps hinting he too has been subject to her charms in the past.
* {{I Was Quite a Looker}}: The reader is informed that this is what eventually happens to Belinda (which she remains utterly oblivious to) when she's been married to her ''much'' older husband for some years. Gone is the young, pretty yellow-haired girl - she's been replaced by a "stout" woman with faded hair and an aged face.
* {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}: A simply MASSIVE number; all interesting and important to the plot in some way - even the ones with barely any screen time!
* {{May December Romance}}: Ashton's parents ''were'' this, Belinda's marriage ''is'' this and Anjuli's marriage ''would have been'' this. Her sister, Shushila ''had'' this. Quite a common trend, given the time period. (Ashton himself is six or seven years older than Anjuli, which, while being a difference, is still not enough to fully become this trope.)
* {{Memento MacGuffin}}: As children, Anjuli gave Ashton a small, cheap mother-of-pearl fish that he split in two on the night he escaped with Sita from the palace. Ashton split the fish in two, keeping one piece for herself and the other half for Ashton "to remember him by". Years later, the fish is how Anjuli realizes that Ashton is the same Ashok from childhood.
* {{Period Piece}}: Covering the mid - late 1800's British Raj, the Second Afghan War and mentions of ''loads'' of former (and important) historic dates.
* {{Psychic Dreams for Everyone}}: Over and over again, Ashton dreams of himself riding for his life on a horse with a girl sitting behind him with long black hair, urging him to ride faster and get away from those who pursue them. Everything in this dream comes to pass eventually. And the actual moment is ''anything'' but dreamy.
* {{Puppy Love}}: Anjuli has been in love with Ashton (Ashok to her) since she was just a small child. She never grew out of it and never stopped loving him, despite not seeing him for years.
* {{Raised by Natives}}: A truly '''EPIC''' example: His mother having died due to complications of childbirth, Ashton is then taken care of by his absentminded father, Professor Hilary, his father's friend, the retired officer Akbar Khan and Sita the wife of Hilary's groom - the latter two of whom love him as their own son and spoil him. Ashton spends the first 18 months of his life among the mountains and by the time he is four years old, doesn't speak a word of English - only the local dialects of which he picks up a lot, having acquired the talent of languages from his father, the Professor. He rarely wears European clothing, and dresses like the locals, passing as them as well due to the fair-skin of the Indians around him. When the camp is struck by an epidemic of cholera, his father Hilary, Akbar Khan and Sita's husband (among many others) are all taken by it leaving Sita to take care of not-even 5 year old Ashton when the rest die. Though they leave the camp, the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 (The Sepoy Mutiny) prevents Sita from returning Ashton to his distant English relatives - they escape the bloody situation and find refuge in the kingdom of Gulkote where Ashton continues to be raised as an Indian child, totally forgetting that he is in fact, a white British boy. Known as "Ashok" (Ash), Ashton is eventually hired as a servant boy and later, companion for the crown prince of Gulkote - it is here that he meets and befriends the mistreated princess, baby Anjuli who grows very close to him, along with Zarin and his father Koda Dad Khan. Some years pass and Ashton discovers a murderous plot against the prince, but discovers that he himself will be killed for the discovery. To save his life, he is urged to flee with Sita. He parts from Anjuli and the rest and escapes from the city. Sita dies shortly afterwards, but not before she gives Ashton the long withheld information of his true lineage, the documentation and instructions to find his relatives. This Ashton does and at the age of 12 returns to England to spend the next several years in constant opposition and confusion with everyone. He is sent to boarding school (where he excels though without making any friends) to be forcefully molded into "a proper British man" with a "proper British way of thinking". He returns to India as a young man in late summer, 1871.
* {{The Raj}}: Obviously.
* {{Rapunzel hair}}: Notably Anjuli with her very long, silky raven-black hair that Ashton is not only rather fond of, but dreams about on more than one occasion.
* {{Rescue Romance}}: Ashton saves Anjuli from drowning when the palanquin she is riding in topples over when the massive bridal party is crossing the river. He feels drawn to her immediately and this is what starts his feelings for her.
* {{Rescue Sex}}: After he kisses her while they're trapped in the cave during the sandstorm, Ashton wants nothing more than to do this with Anjuli. However, being a gentleman and knowing she is a virgin, he asks if she loves him (thereby also implying consent). She says yes, and willingly goes along with him. Ashton is even considerate enough to warn her later on that, "he was going to hurt her".
** However, Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.
* {{Save the Princess}}: Upon hearing that the Maharajah of Bithor, [[spoiler: Anjuli and Shushila's husband]] has died and the women are sentenced to suttee, Ashton invokes this trope with a few others. Upon arriving, they discover that [[spoiler: Anjuli has been spared from the flames by Shushila]]. However, it turns out things are far more complex than that and the mission goes HORRIBLY wrong with several characters (and their horses) dying brutally.
* {{She is all grown up}}: Ashton's first impression of Anjuli after seeing her for the first time since they were children. He can't tear his eyes away from how uniquely and stunningly beautiful she has become and has to hastily look away with someone points that out.
* {{Smooch of Victory}}: After spending weeks (perhaps over a month) with each other as Ashton is the British soldier in charge of leading the bridal party to Bhithor and having secret (totally platonic) meetings at night recalling their childhood together, Ashton, Anjuli and a few others go riding. However, a massive sandstorm swells up, Ashton and Anjuli are separated from the rest and seek shelter in a large cave. They get separated from each other while inside the pitch-blackness and Ashton, fearing that Anjuli has injured herself calls out desperately for her. She answers, stumbles literally into his arms and Ashton (who by this time is very much in love with her), kisses her both in thankfulness and desperate want.
* {{Star Crossed Lovers}}: In the flavour of half-caste, unloved, mistreated Princess and the brooding British soldier who has known her since she was a child.
* {{Statuesque Stunner}}: Anjuli grows from being a plain, unattractive child into a tall, shapely and lovely young woman with light brown/tawny eyes and raven black hair.
* {{Tall Dark and Handsome}}: Ashton always was on the verge of this, but as a full-grown adult he achieves this with his swarthy, brooding looks, dark hair and tall, lean-muscled build. Several other men in the book are this as well both among the British and the Natives of India. Zarin, George, Sarji and the Pashtuns for example.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, but especially the final pages, leading up to that BittersweetEnding.
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli.
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down and utterly ruins his life in the process.
**Kaka-ji Rao reveals to Ashton that he too once loved someone he could not be with - both her caste and the fact that she was too young for (Kaka-ji Rao) kept him from speaking of his feelings. She died young and he never forgets her.
* {{War is glorious}}: What Wally sincerely believes from the bottom of his heart.
* {{War is hell}}: Which is why Ashton and many others return broken, changed and bitterly hardened men.
* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy".
* {{Would Hit a Girl}}: Ashton - but only when absolutely necessary and to stop a panic attack/mental breakdown.
The monumental masterwork of 'British author ''M. M. Kaye''' that took over 10 years to write, '''The Far Pavilions'' was published in 1978 to worldwide fame; becoming an immediate and instant global best-seller as well as M.M. Kaye's most famous and beloved work.
Spanning over twenty of the 19th century's most turbulent years in India, it is a lush, sweeping story of one man struggling to find who he truly is amid the triumph and tribulations of his life set against both a British India and an ancient civilization slowly but surely turning towards the modern era. A book of love and war, prejudice and pride, courage and cruelty, honor and betrayal and the unrelenting march of time that slows down for no one.
Born at the foot of the Himalyas, the orphaned British child Ashton Pelham-Martyn is raised as an Indian by his ayah, Sita who cares for him like her own son. When his true ethnicity is revealed to him, he is taken back to England to be raised and molded into a proper Englishman, where his identity becomes a burden that is questioned time and time again by himself and others as he struggles to discover who Ashton truly is and is not.
Constantly at odds with both his peers and the world around him, Ashton realizes that it is both a blessing and a curse to see and understand multiple viewpoints and to sympathize with more than one outlook in a world ruled and dictated by prejudice from all sides.
Both a historical, political masterpiece and a stunning, romantic fairytale of a world and era long gone, ''The Far Pavilions'' remains a marvelous marriage between the East and West; a wedding of two different cultures and the peoples of and by them.
The book is divided into eight sub-books starting with Ashton's childhood and progressing all the way to his inevitable involvement of the Second Afghan War (1878 - 1880) - the climax and ending of the entire novel:
'''Book 1''' - ''The Twig is Bent''
'''Book 2''' - ''Belinda''
'''Book 3''' - ''World out of Time''
'''Book 4''' - ''Bhithor''
'''Book 5''' - ''Paradise of Fools''
'''Book 6''' - ''Juli''
'''Book 7''' - ''My Brother Jonathon''
'''Book 8''' - ''The Land of Cain''
A truly monumental achievement, the British answer to America's ''Literature/Gone With the Wind'' or Russia's ''Literature/War and Peace'', M.M Kaye's The Far Pavilions is the moving, passionate and utterly epic tale of a life lost to the memory of a history book and the troubled man caught time and time again between its pages.
Upon release, the book was so popular that that it caused travel agents to devise tours of the locations featured in the book. Unfortunately, the book seems to have faded from most public memory, though when read it continues to be as beloved and enjoyed as ever.
The book also inspired a 1984 massively popular mini-series adaptation and in 2005 a stage production musical. It was adapted again this time in the form of a Radio Drama in 2011.
It '''desperately needs a modern adaptation''' to re-introduce it to the public once again.
----
-->''The Far Pavilions'' displays the use of the following Tropes:
* {{A Boy and His}}: Ashton's truly gorgeous black racing horse, Dagobaz [[spoiler: who meets a truly tragic end.]]
* {{A Man is Not a Virgin}}: Ashton loses his rather amusingly when he's "taken advantage of" at the age of 16 by naughty housemaid Lily Briggs, five years his senior, back in England. He's confused by the encounter but goes along with it, finding it "immensely enjoyable" and proves to be an "apt pupil".
* {{Affectionate Nickname}}: Ashton is "Ash", Anjuli is called "Juli" (by Ashton) and "Kairi-baba". Then there is "Wally" (Walter).
* {{Alpha Bitch}}: Janoo-rani obviously and then Belinda is revealed to be this. Later on Shushila, dear god.
* {{Ambiguously Brown}}: The fully white Ashton, is sometimes mistaken for this with his swarthy complexion which he inherited from his mother who was an olive-skinned English beauty. This works in Ashton's favor almost always, as it allows him to pass as Indian/non-European several times in the book - interestingly, he's actually mentioned to be more tanned/swarthy than the fair-skinned Indians of the North/in general, the pale-skinned Muslims and Pashtuns/Pathans.
* {{Anyone Can Die}}: It is a book with over 1000 pages, covering ''years'' - what else do you expect?
* {{Arranged Marriage}}: What Shushila and Anjuli have waiting for them, courtesy of their brother, to the Rana of Bhithor.
* {{Bittersweet Ending}}: Might even be a DownerEnding for some! [[spoiler: Wally dies, Ashton parts from all his old companions and friends including Zarin for good and he (Ashton) can and will never return to the the British or Indian society he's known all his life. He's finally found a place where he can truly be himself, but had to leave every single person behind (besides Anjuli) to achieve that. The plus side is that Ashton and Anjuli end up together, though whether or not their found their "kingdom" is left open.]]
* {{Bitch in Sheeps Clothing}}: The young, pretty and very vicious Belinda. Later on the incredibly manipulative Shushila who hides her evil behind her extraordinary beauty. Averted with Janoo-rani who is just an outright evil bitch.
* {{Blondes are Evil}}: While she isn't "evil", Belinda is still a ''total bitch'', being very vain, cruel, shallow, ill-tempered and a gold-digger to boot. Not to mention it was her actions that led to [[spoiler: the mixed-blood George's]]: suicide. The plus side of all this is that Ashton saw her true colors and got over her after [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome grandly telling her what he thought of her.]] Wally of course, thoroughly averts this.
* {{Brainy Brunette}}: Ashton is highly intelligent, speaking, reading and writing in several languages; he is also a cunning and very shrewd soldier and an excellent strategist. Anjuli is this as well, despite having no formal education whatsoever, remains sharp and observant. Later on [[spoiler: after she and Ashton are married]], she quickly picks up English when he teaches her.
* {{But Not Too Brown}}: Anjuli, who comes from mixed lineage thanks to her Russian grandfather who fell in love with and married her Indian grandmother. Early on in the book, George too - he almost passed, but Belinda ruined his chances.
* {{Byronic Hero}}: The dark, brooding and emotionally complex Ashton who never truly fits in anywhere.
* {{Child of Two Worlds}}: Ashton could be the poster boy of this, being a white British boy who did not know of his British blood until he was 12 and had spent all his former years raised in Indian culture and speaking the language. Needless to say, his sudden uprooting and forceful induction into British culture and the UK came as quite the culture shock. He spends almost the entirety of the book struggling to balance his two cultural sides, while trying to find out who Ashton truly is as a person.
* {{Childhood Friend Romance}}: What eventually happens to Anjuli and Ashton - on her part, she never stopped loving him despite not seeing or contacting him for years. For Ashton, it starts very soon after they meet again.
* {{Coming of Age Tale}}: The story starts with Ashton literally taking his first breaths as a newborn baby and follows him along for over twenty years of his life.
* {{Death by Childbirth}}: Ashton's mother succumbs to this, having miscalculated her due date and giving birth to Ashton practically in the middle of nowhere, in the crest of a pass in the Himalayas. This proves fatal, as she dies from complications due to his birth and the cold, dusty wind just a few days later.
* {{Doorstopper}}: Reprints of the novel clock in at over 900 pages. The original edition was over a 1000, and some editions divide the book into two individual copies. Not to mention that for all editions, the print is rather on the small side. The book itself is split into several sub-books, each over a hundred pages long.
* {{Dwindling Party}}: Several times: when Ashton and company go on a three year mission to catch a thief on the Frontier; when Ashton and company attempt to rescue Anjuli from suttee after the Maharajah dies and finally when Ashton, Wally and their fellow comrades fight in the Second Afghan War.
* {{Epic}}: On the scale of Russia's ''War and Peace'' and America's ''Gone With the Wind'', which is no small feat by any means.
* {{First Girl Wins}}: It was inevitable that Ashton would end up with Anjuli, whom he has known since she was just a baby and he a young boy, but the way the author approaches this makes for both a unique, moving and captivating read.
* {{Grey Eyes}}: Ashton, again something he inherited from his mother.
* {{Hair of gold heart of gold}}: Oh ''Wally!''
* {{Have I Mentioned That I am Heterosexual Today}}: Briefly stated while talking, it is mentioned in conversation that due to lack of women folk when out in the wilderness of India, soldiers indulged their needs with younger boys or teenagers. Ashton claims he simply cannot understand how some men resorted to this.
* {{Historical-Domain Character}}: Ashton's good friend, Walter "Wally" Hamilton, is a fictionalized version of the real life '''Walter Richard Pollock Hamilton''', the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross - the highest honour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lieutenant Hamilton was awarded this for his bravery in the Second Afghan War (a war featured heavily in the last two sub-books of ''The Far Pavilions'') where he was killed in action in 1879 at the age of 23.
** Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari also makes an appearance in the final two sections of the book.
* {{Hooker With a Heart of Gold}}: Said to be the prettiest girl in the Guides' part of India and one rather popular with the British men stationed there. Ashton knows of her as well, perhaps hinting he too has been subject to her charms in the past.
* {{I Was Quite a Looker}}: The reader is informed that this is what eventually happens to Belinda (which she remains utterly oblivious to) when she's been married to her ''much'' older husband for some years. Gone is the young, pretty yellow-haired girl - she's been replaced by a "stout" woman with faded hair and an aged face.
* {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}: A simply MASSIVE number; all interesting and important to the plot in some way - even the ones with barely any screen time!
* {{May December Romance}}: Ashton's parents ''were'' this, Belinda's marriage ''is'' this and Anjuli's marriage ''would have been'' this. Her sister, Shushila ''had'' this. Quite a common trend, given the time period. (Ashton himself is six or seven years older than Anjuli, which, while being a difference, is still not enough to fully become this trope.)
* {{Memento MacGuffin}}: As children, Anjuli gave Ashton a small, cheap mother-of-pearl fish that he split in two on the night he escaped with Sita from the palace. Ashton split the fish in two, keeping one piece for herself and the other half for Ashton "to remember him by". Years later, the fish is how Anjuli realizes that Ashton is the same Ashok from childhood.
* {{Period Piece}}: Covering the mid - late 1800's British Raj, the Second Afghan War and mentions of ''loads'' of former (and important) historic dates.
* {{Psychic Dreams for Everyone}}: Over and over again, Ashton dreams of himself riding for his life on a horse with a girl sitting behind him with long black hair, urging him to ride faster and get away from those who pursue them. Everything in this dream comes to pass eventually. And the actual moment is ''anything'' but dreamy.
* {{Puppy Love}}: Anjuli has been in love with Ashton (Ashok to her) since she was just a small child. She never grew out of it and never stopped loving him, despite not seeing him for years.
* {{Raised by Natives}}: A truly '''EPIC''' example: His mother having died due to complications of childbirth, Ashton is then taken care of by his absentminded father, Professor Hilary, his father's friend, the retired officer Akbar Khan and Sita the wife of Hilary's groom - the latter two of whom love him as their own son and spoil him. Ashton spends the first 18 months of his life among the mountains and by the time he is four years old, doesn't speak a word of English - only the local dialects of which he picks up a lot, having acquired the talent of languages from his father, the Professor. He rarely wears European clothing, and dresses like the locals, passing as them as well due to the fair-skin of the Indians around him. When the camp is struck by an epidemic of cholera, his father Hilary, Akbar Khan and Sita's husband (among many others) are all taken by it leaving Sita to take care of not-even 5 year old Ashton when the rest die. Though they leave the camp, the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 (The Sepoy Mutiny) prevents Sita from returning Ashton to his distant English relatives - they escape the bloody situation and find refuge in the kingdom of Gulkote where Ashton continues to be raised as an Indian child, totally forgetting that he is in fact, a white British boy. Known as "Ashok" (Ash), Ashton is eventually hired as a servant boy and later, companion for the crown prince of Gulkote - it is here that he meets and befriends the mistreated princess, baby Anjuli who grows very close to him, along with Zarin and his father Koda Dad Khan. Some years pass and Ashton discovers a murderous plot against the prince, but discovers that he himself will be killed for the discovery. To save his life, he is urged to flee with Sita. He parts from Anjuli and the rest and escapes from the city. Sita dies shortly afterwards, but not before she gives Ashton the long withheld information of his true lineage, the documentation and instructions to find his relatives. This Ashton does and at the age of 12 returns to England to spend the next several years in constant opposition and confusion with everyone. He is sent to boarding school (where he excels though without making any friends) to be forcefully molded into "a proper British man" with a "proper British way of thinking". He returns to India as a young man in late summer, 1871.
* {{The Raj}}: Obviously.
* {{Rapunzel hair}}: Notably Anjuli with her very long, silky raven-black hair that Ashton is not only rather fond of, but dreams about on more than one occasion.
* {{Rescue Romance}}: Ashton saves Anjuli from drowning when the palanquin she is riding in topples over when the massive bridal party is crossing the river. He feels drawn to her immediately and this is what starts his feelings for her.
* {{Rescue Sex}}: After he kisses her while they're trapped in the cave during the sandstorm, Ashton wants nothing more than to do this with Anjuli. However, being a gentleman and knowing she is a virgin, he asks if she loves him (thereby also implying consent). She says yes, and willingly goes along with him. Ashton is even considerate enough to warn her later on that, "he was going to hurt her".
** However, Ashton loses that gentlemanly consideration later on. After this scene happens, they take to discussing their feelings for each other and the situation they are now in. When Anjuli refuses to run off with him abandoning everything, Ashton, now furious, proceeds to "have his way with her". It would have definitely been rape if Anjuli hadn't given in and it hadn't been implied to be more of "hard ravishment". Still, it comes across as rather TOO borderline. And Anjuli ''still'' doesn't agree to run away with him.
* {{Save the Princess}}: Upon hearing that the Maharajah of Bithor, [[spoiler: Anjuli and Shushila's husband]] has died and the women are sentenced to suttee, Ashton invokes this trope with a few others. Upon arriving, they discover that [[spoiler: Anjuli has been spared from the flames by Shushila]]. However, it turns out things are far more complex than that and the mission goes HORRIBLY wrong with several characters (and their horses) dying brutally.
* {{She is all grown up}}: Ashton's first impression of Anjuli after seeing her for the first time since they were children. He can't tear his eyes away from how uniquely and stunningly beautiful she has become and has to hastily look away with someone points that out.
* {{Smooch of Victory}}: After spending weeks (perhaps over a month) with each other as Ashton is the British soldier in charge of leading the bridal party to Bhithor and having secret (totally platonic) meetings at night recalling their childhood together, Ashton, Anjuli and a few others go riding. However, a massive sandstorm swells up, Ashton and Anjuli are separated from the rest and seek shelter in a large cave. They get separated from each other while inside the pitch-blackness and Ashton, fearing that Anjuli has injured herself calls out desperately for her. She answers, stumbles literally into his arms and Ashton (who by this time is very much in love with her), kisses her both in thankfulness and desperate want.
* {{Star Crossed Lovers}}: In the flavour of half-caste, unloved, mistreated Princess and the brooding British soldier who has known her since she was a child.
* {{Statuesque Stunner}}: Anjuli grows from being a plain, unattractive child into a tall, shapely and lovely young woman with light brown/tawny eyes and raven black hair.
* {{Tall Dark and Handsome}}: Ashton always was on the verge of this, but as a full-grown adult he achieves this with his swarthy, brooding looks, dark hair and tall, lean-muscled build. Several other men in the book are this as well both among the British and the Natives of India. Zarin, George, Sarji and the Pashtuns for example.
* {{Tear Jerker}}: Many times in the book, but especially the final pages, leading up to that BittersweetEnding.
* {{Unrequited Love}}: It is subtly implied that Wally falls in love instantly with Anjuli upon Ashton introducing them, as he is immediately taken by her rare beauty and charm. However, Wally says nothing since he knows it is hopeless and remains happy for the both of them, wishing them the best since Ashton is his dearest friend and he is fond of Anjuli.
** George Garforth is truly in love with Belinda, despite people thinking he is a gold digger and him knowing he has no chance both because he knows Belinda does not care for him as well as his lineage spoiling things for him. Still he tries, but Belinda savagely turns him down and utterly ruins his life in the process.
**Kaka-ji Rao reveals to Ashton that he too once loved someone he could not be with - both her caste and the fact that she was too young for (Kaka-ji Rao) kept him from speaking of his feelings. She died young and he never forgets her.
* {{War is glorious}}: What Wally sincerely believes from the bottom of his heart.
* {{War is hell}}: Which is why Ashton and many others return broken, changed and bitterly hardened men.
* {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}: Despite the tense situation, it is still amusing when, as a child, Ashton is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape with Sita and avoid being caught by their pursuers who are looking for "a woman and a little boy".
* {{Would Hit a Girl}}: Ashton - but only when absolutely necessary and to stop a panic attack/mental breakdown.
