Under the Jeweled Sky

McQueen (The Secret Children) takes readers on an emotional coming-of-age journey in her latest novel. In 1947, Dr. Shofield moves his 18-year-old daughter Sophie and bitter wife Veronica from their London home to India, where he has accepted a position as a Maharaja’s doctor. With nothing to do but explore the palatial grounds, Sophie meets Jag, the son of a palace servant, who shows her hidden passageways, while over time carving a path straight to her heart. In Romeo and Juliet fashion, the two have explicitly been told they aren’t to socialize, much less fall in love. But something binds them deeper than their parents’ strict orders, even after Jag is sent away. Years later, Sophie returns to India with her British husband and finds that as much as she tried to quell them over the years, the memories of her first love—and the painful secret they share—have never truly left her. McQueen expertly captures the innocence and passion of young love—and how it can so quickly turn into something tragic when politics and the realities of adulthood get in the way. This historical page-turner deals out hope and heartbreak in turn, hurtling the reader toward its devastating denouement. Agent; Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (Jan.)