His wife Uma Dey, who starts off as a traditional wife but grows within the novel, (in part as a homage to The Collector) and becomes a political activist, a philanthropist and protector of the downtrodden. The District Collector – Beni Prasad Dey – a man out of time and place, educated in England, an honourable man but ultimately a tragic figure. Rajkumar glimpses Dolly during the sack of the Glass Palace and in that instant their lives change forever. One of the Princesses nursemaid is Dolly, who starts the novel as a timid young orphan in service to the Royal family and becomes their lady-in-waiting. The Royal Princesses – usually referred to by their order of birth, are Hteiksu: Myatpayagi, Myatpayalat, and Myatpaya. His wife, Queen Supayalat – the power behind the throne, a Byzantine, proud, unbending, strong and scheming consort who loves Thibaw and to protect him (and herself) has arranged for the bloody assassination of all possible threats to his throne, including several dozen close relatives.

Here lived the King, Thibaw – an aesthete, ineffectual but kindly. The Glass Palace, the Imperial Palace of the Burmese Kings, overshadows them all – a moated place of awe and mystery, a metaphor for the permanence we rely on in life and the instability we inevitably encounter.

Ma Cho’s sometime lover is the excellent Saya John – who helps Rajkumar and becomes like a father to him, supporting and counseling him throughout his life. It is there that the young Rajkumar hears the cannons of the English invaders and sees the giant, beef eating, red coated white men march into Mandalay to disposess and exile the King. Destitute, he is pointed towards Ma Cho, a kindly but acerbic street side restaurantier, who gives him a job as a waiter in her stall. The lead character is Rajkumar – a bright and enterprising young Indian orphan who sails the Bay of Bengal and who, through storm and lull and the irresistible force of circumstance, finds himself in Mandalay. (We also learn a fair bit about the temperament of, and very alarming diseases peculiar to elephants, which is fascinating). We read too of the effect that World War II had on these regions and the people. We learn at first hand of the exile of the last king of Burma and the royal family. Once again we follow Ghosh’s endearing characters and the generations that follow, this time through Burma, India and Malaya. We love the way he seamlessly weaves bizarre (but largely true) history, colourful and enormously engaging characters, exotic countries, elaborate customs and endlessly fascinating linguistics together to create an intricately woven fabric that shimmers and glistens and changes even as your eye takes it in. We’re hooked on the Bengali writer Amitav Ghosh.

The glass palace