The East Indian: A Novel

By Brinda Charry

on Apr 09, 2024

'Filled with memorable characters, The East Indian grapples with the brutal colonialism and indentured labour of the 1600s with warmth and wit.' - SHASHI THAROOR

Meet Tony - compassionate and insatiably curious, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the coast of India to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself indentured on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Alone and afraid, Tony longs for home, and envisions a life after servitude full of adventure and learning. His dream: to become a physician's assistant, an expert on roots and herbs, a dispenser of healing compounds.

Like the play that captivates him - Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which Tony saw at the Globe during his short time in London - Tony's life is rich with oddities and hijinks, humor and tragedy. Set largely during the early days of English colonization in Virginia, Brinda Charry's The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historical figure and brings his world to vivid life.