Overlook Press Publisher on THE KASHMIR SHAWL

A word from Overlook Press Publisher Peter Mayer on THE KASHMIR SHAWL, which is available this week!

  ...

From time to time, a publisher discovers an author who makes the reader sit up and take special notice. Reading the manuscript, and having heard the author’s name previously, the excited publisher discovers the author is a raging bestseller and has been for many years…just not in America.

The author is Rosie Thomas and the book is THE KASHMIR SHAWL. No sooner had Overlook acquired rights from her agent to publish THE KASHMIR SHAWL in America, we received word the book was not only brilliantly reviewed but racing up the London Times bestseller list, becoming the #2 bestseller in Britain and knocking on the door of #1. 

Overlook loves pulling out surprises, books so often “overlooked” by the giant houses. So here is another one which readers will love for its sweeping story, gorgeous detail and incredible heart. The story moves flawlessly between 1945 India and the present day, as the heroine, Mair, travels through Kashmir, uncovering secrets about her grandmother, who lived there during World War II as a missionary’s wife.

Rosie Thomas’s specialty is love stories in exotic settings (she’s traveled to them all and knows what she’s writing about) that truly transport the reader, and she deserves the extravagant reviews she’s always gotten. With the excitement of a house in which everyone feels a great passion for this author, I offer a prediction: The KASHMIR SHAWL is the beginning of a great publishing career for Rosie Thomas in America.

Become a fan of Rosie Thomas on Facebook.

Read along with Rosie's travels on her Blog.

Follow THE KASHMIR SHAWL board on Pinterest.

Read an exclusive excerpt and interview with Rosie on BookReporter.com

Early Praise for THE KASHMIR SHAWL

“Thomas brings India to glorious life in this utterly engrossing and beautifully written epic novel. Her characters are so interesting and realistic that readers will be reluctant to let them go. Fans of Joanna Trollope and Mary Wesley will enjoy this moving work.”—Library Journal

"An avid traveler and thorough researcher, Thomas brings the flavors and colors of India to life with vivid detail and develops characters so real one feels a kinship. An engrossing, intelligent, and satisfying read, this publication is the American debut of a UK best-seller."—Booklist

"A finely wrought story of emotional and geographical displacement."—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] compelling, scandalous tale of 1940s India, set against the dynamic backdrop of

Kashmir.”—Publishers Weekly

“Mystery, intrigue, a great love, passion, and a terrible sorrow all come together to make this a very touching and satisfying read.”

—Barbara Taylor Bradford, bestselling author of Letter From a Stranger

“Rosie Thomas has the rare and wonderful ability to create stories and characters that take you instantly into another world—one you are most reluctant to leave until you have reached the end.” —Penny Vincenzi, bestselling author of No Angel

“Thomas’s Novels are beautifully written.”—Marie Claire

“A Master Storyteller.”—Cosmopolitan