O. Douglas
(pen name of Anna Masterton Buchan)
1912
3/5 stars
Olivia, a young Scotswoman, takes a trip to India to visit her brother, who is a civil servant. This epistolary novel follows Olivia's ocean voyage to India, her stay in Calcutta, and her visits to outlying posts. The style is breezy and charming, and the reader gets to know the characters of Olivia and her brother well. Buchan is quite good at fleshing out minor characters as well, and as a character study, the book is entertaining. However, there is very little plot to the book; it's main purpose seems to be not to tell a story as to acquaint British readers with the wonders of India, which she does do well. This lack of plot, though, severely detracts from the novel, making it only an average read.
This book is free on Project Gutenberg.
