The Lady and the Unicorn
A Virago Modern Classic
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By the author of Black Narcissus and The River
'One of our best and most captivating novelists' Philip Hensher
'Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' New York Times
In a crumbling Calcutta mansion, with faded frescos and a jasmine-covered garden, the Lemarchant family live, clinging to the fringes of respectability: neither Indian nor English, they are accepted by no one and exploited by all.
After only a day in India, Stephen Bright meets Rosa Lemarchant. In an ill-fitting dress once belonging to her sister, she is awkward and shy, and couldn't be more different from the stories he has heard of fast 'Eurasian' girls. Ignorant of Calcutta's strict codes of conformity, he falls in love with Rosa and becomes enchanted by the building in which she lives, determined to uncover its secrets.
Mystery pervades this story of a memory-haunted house in old Calcutta, as secret as a sundial in a ruined garden.
'One of our best and most captivating novelists' Philip Hensher
'Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' New York Times
In a crumbling Calcutta mansion, with faded frescos and a jasmine-covered garden, the Lemarchant family live, clinging to the fringes of respectability: neither Indian nor English, they are accepted by no one and exploited by all.
After only a day in India, Stephen Bright meets Rosa Lemarchant. In an ill-fitting dress once belonging to her sister, she is awkward and shy, and couldn't be more different from the stories he has heard of fast 'Eurasian' girls. Ignorant of Calcutta's strict codes of conformity, he falls in love with Rosa and becomes enchanted by the building in which she lives, determined to uncover its secrets.
Mystery pervades this story of a memory-haunted house in old Calcutta, as secret as a sundial in a ruined garden.
- Published: Mar 12 2026
- ISBN: 9780349017563
Press Reviews
- Observer
Touching, amusing, enchanting . . . an exceptional work
- New York Times
Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty
Philip Hensher
One of our best and most captivating novelists
- Scotsman
This tale of a haunted house in a decayed quarter of Calcutta cannot fail to delight . . . graceful and perceptive
Rosie Thomas
GuardianRumer Godden's novels have a timeless shimmer. But powerful adult themes underlie their surface