Virago Modern Classics

BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

''One of our best and most captivating novelists'' PHILIP HENSHER

''[Godden] writes with grace and a cheerfully lilting prose'' KIRKUS REVIEWS

''Her craftsmanship is always sure'' NEW YORK TIMES

A revered effigy of the God, Shiva, is missing from the Patna Hall Hotel on south India''s exquisite Coromandel coast. Was it stolen, and to whom does it belong? Young lawyer Michael Dean, sent from London to argue the case for the defence, falls under the spell of Artemis, a graceful archaeologist who is staying at the hotel; but she proves as elusive as the mystery of the theft he is working on.

Her final novel, Cromartie vs The God Shiva is a magical, evocative exploration of art, love, class and greed set in Godden''s beloved southern India.