Ruskin Bond Selection

'The predominant note was peace; not the faintest breeze ruffled the herbage and the silence was the silence of a vast ocean utterly calm, though always the sounds of the streams came to the ear as a soft, almost imperceptible cadence.' In 1931, a party of British mountaineers-including Frank S. Smythe-on their way back from a successful ascent of Mount Kamet, were looking for shelter from inclement weather in the wilderness above Joshimath in present-day Uttarakhand when they came upon the lush and colourful Bhyundar Valley, the Valley of Flowers. In the monsoon of 1937, Smythe returned to the Valley with four Tibetans from Darjeeling-his climbing partners and factotums-provisions, and six weeks of leisure. On this adventure, Smythe extensively explored the Valley, identifying and collecting flowers and seeds from among the wealth of plant life. He and his friends also scaled the Nilgiri Parbat and the Mana Peak and were, defeated by Mount Rataban. Beset by the rains, the party was nearly always soggy and, once, an Abominable Snowman gave them the fright of their lives. Yet, these were but minor prices to pay for the privilege of witnessing the Himalaya in its infinite variety and for a great deal of time usefully spent ruminating on the joys of idleness. The very best kind of nature and adventure writing, which vividly captures the exuberance of wide-open vistas as well as the opportunities for solitude and introspection they provide, The Valley of Flowers is a book to read, and to keep dipping into.

A woman's ghost comes calling for her devoted husband; an amulet hastily given to a British officer saves him from a man-eating tiger; a happily married young woman finds herself reminiscing about someone lost for ever; an ayah sings lullabies to her imaginary charge; and an obnoxious self-made man loses his family in a flash. Written and set in late-nineteenth-century India, the stories in East of Suez-domestic dramas, shikar stories, hauntings and grand love affairs-chronicle the lives and after-lives of the sahibs and memsahibs of the Raj. Sharply observed and timeless in its evocation of an age long past, East of Suez is a memorable and gripping read.

In 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of classics such as Kidnapped and Treasure Island, embarked on a walking tour of the Cévennes, a mountainous region in south-central France. His travelling companion was Modestine, a diminutive donkey with a mind of her own who, over the course of the journey, bore some of his provisions and much of his rancour. Modestine and Stevenson tramped without plan or purpose through scenic villages and fearsome forests-reportedly infested with man-eating wolves, depending on peasants, Trappist monks and passersby for supplies, shelter and directions. They were, beset by storms and unhelpful residents, but were also granted views of splendid vistas and cold, clear nights. And, over twelve days, 200 kilometers, and many shared adventures, Stevenson came to love his obdurate, manipulative little companion. Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes has inspired generations of later travelers and writers, from John Steinbeck-and his Travels with Charley-to Bruce Chatwin and Graham Greene, including present-day hikers who retrace the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail. Written in timeless prose, and with biting wit, this slim volume is a treat for all readers.

King Karna is fried every morning to provide a fakir's breakfast, but finds that there is a more generous ruler than he; Raja Rasalu becomes a jogi just for a glimpse of the fair Queen Sundaran; a rat thinks he drives a good bargain, but is astonished when his bargaining brings him a bride; and a bulbul pines for green chilies from the garden of a Jinn. These folktales and many others from all over North India were collected by Flora Annie Steel in the nineteenth century. Today, they are an invaluable snapshot of a bygone era; they evoke the timeless India of myth and legend, peopled with talking animals, powerful fakirs and heroic kings, where anything can happen and usually does. Charmingly illustrated by John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, and complete with original verses in Hindi and Punjabi, Shehzadi Mircha: Folktales from the Punjab is a delightful book for adults and young readers alike.

Mr. Abney was, found in his chair, his head thrown back... In his left side was a terrible lacerated wound, exposing the heart. There was no blood on his hands, and a long knife that lay on the table was perfectly clean. M. R. James is one of the greatest writers of supernatural stories from the last century. He has left an enduring legacy, and remains popular not only among generations of readers but also among later writers-from H. P. Lovecraft and John Bellairs to Stephen King and Paul Theroux. In this selection, you will encounter the critic Mr. Dunning who, after having rejected a paper on 'The Truth of Alchemy', finds himself being followed by an indescribable horror night and day. Mr. Garrett, a librarian, is called, upon to retrieve a Talmudic text. But, in performing this simple task, he is drawn into the matter of a mysteriously coded will and a murderous uncle. Ann Clark, jilted and murdered by George Martin, comes back from the beyond to send her lover to the gallows. And, after a scholar of pagan rites is, found with his chest ripped open, his young cousin understands why the man took him in as an orphan. Understated, placid surfaces, which conceal the stuff of nightmares, the stories in The Creature on the Moonlit Road are some of the best in the genre. Gripping, and full of the most unexpected surprises, this volume is, guaranteed to thrill.

From military camels and hunting cheetahs, to herding dogs and talking mynahs, animals have been living, working, playing and performing with humans in India for centuries. In this intimate book, John Lockwood Kipling writes about animals in daily Indian life, bringing alive the sights, sounds and smells of the nineteenth century. In these tales, forty restless elephants are hoisted into a steam ship and nearly sink it; a guilty goat gets the thrashing of its life; a cheetah-keeper wakes up every night to a feline bedfellow; and a dog follows a king to heaven. Kipling describes the animal kingdom with the authority of a naturalist, paired with a sympathetic engagement with Indian culture. He narrates religious myths, traditional folktales and incidents from day-to-day life with relish, peppered with local sayings-'The Indian lover can pay his sweetheart no higher compliment than to say that she runs like a partridge.' Lavishly illustrated with Kipling's own pen-and-ink drawings, and enhanced by his son, Rudyard Kipling's verse, The Elephant in the Temple offers a fascinating glimpse of a time when birds and animals used to 'come and go at their own pleasure, and rub shoulders with humanity.' This wittily written book is a delight for aficionados of Indian history and animal lovers everywhere.

Much of what we know about the everyday life of the British Raj comes from Rudyard Kipling, one of the keenest observers of nineteenth century India. He is at his best, when writing about the men and women who worked, lived, loved and died together; their indiscretions and foibles; flirtations and passions. In this collection, we meet some of his most scandalous characters: Pluffles, a young subaltern, who is rescued by beautiful Mrs. Hauksbee, the toast of Simla, from following abjectly at wicked Mrs. Reiver's 'rickshaw wheels; Major and Mrs. Vansuythen, whose arrival in a sleepy little town throws all the other couples, clandestine and legitimate, into disarray; Janki Meah, the blind old miner, whose pretty young wife is more interested in his burly crewmate; and Suket Singh, Sepoy of the Punjab Native Infantry, and Athira, burning in their passion for each other, forever. In these sparkling, mischievous and touching stories, British India's bureaucrats, soldiers, grass widows and native wives dance, drink and indulge through the hills of Simla, across small towns scattered from Burma to Coimbatore, and in the opium dens of Lahore. Here, the most entertaining writer of the Raj era is at the top of his form.

There was no striking clock within earshot-none on the staircase, none in the stable, none in the distant church tower. Yet it is indubitable that Mr Dillet was started out of a very pleasant slumber by a bell tolling One… M. R. James is widely considered to be one of the greatest practitioners of the art of the ghost story. First published at the turn of the twentieth century, he has left a lasting legacy acknowledged not only by readers, but also by many later writers-from H. P. Lovecraft and John Bellairs to Stephen King and Paul Theroux. In this collection you will find a dolls' house come to life at precisely 1 a.m. to reveal a tragedy. A man on holiday near the sea finds a whistle; he blows into it one night and finds himself with an unwanted roommate. An art dealer acquires a painting that rearranges itself every few hours to tell him a dreadful story. And an ash tree which stands on the grounds of Castringham Hall could hold the secret to why residents of the Hall die mysteriously, and to what Mrs Mothersole meant when she said, 'There will be guests at the Hall,' before being burnt at the stake. Deceptively normal worlds etched in deft, understated prose, these stories conceal undercurrents which build up to frightening scenes of great visual power. The Haunted Dolls' House is an unputdownable read-as compelling as it is spine-chilling.

In 1909, Augusta Fullam, an English memsahib in Meerut, shocked polite English society by falling in love with Dr Clark, an Anglo-Indian of dubious reputation. Clark had long been unhappy in his marriage and upon meeting her, he instigated the double murder of their respective spouses. They conspired to slowly poison Mr Fullam. Bafflingly, Mrs Fullam described to Clark the effects of the poison on her husband in long passionate love letters. Mr Fullam eventually died in 1911 in Agra. Mrs Clark, though, was more poison-proof. So in 1912, a year after Fullam's death, the desperate pair hired assassins to kill her. While investigating the murder of Mrs Clark the police discovered incriminating evidence against the pair, and arrested them. In this riveting book, which became a bestseller when it was first published in 1929, Cecil Walsh systematically draws upon Mrs Fullam's letters to Clark, medical evidence and police and court records to recreate the gruesome murders. The true story of a crime of thwarted passion, The Agra Double Murder gives us fascinating insights into the minds of the perpetrators and a glimpse into life in colonial India.