The Age of Elephants
by Peter Moss
iUniverse, HK$132
At first glance, the eccentric inhabitants of Durbar Court - a rambling home on the south coast of England - are mired in the past like flies in aspic. They're presided over by Dolly Hunter-Jones, who attempts to preserve the dream of her long-dead husband, Glyn: 'a shrine to imperialism', the excesses of the Raj transplanted into a corner of East Sussex.
On the walls hang the mirrors of Rajputana, which reflect the bizarre anachronism of this microcosm, the rooms packed with relics of another era, and the retinue of ageing Indian factotums shuffling around with trays. 'Age crept through the house like a parasitic growth. Any gesture of resistance was futile.'
But Glyn Jones' dream will soon prove too heavy a burden for Durbar Court's inhabitants, most of whom, despite outward appearances, are hungry for change and a release from the past.