 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2013 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 220pp (first edition, pb) |
| ISBN | 9789350296370 |
The Tower of Silence is a novel by Indian author Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier, allegedly written in 1927 and recovered from a lost manuscript by historian Gyan Prakash. It was first published in complete form by HarperCollins in 2013. [1]
An aerial photographer takes a photograph of a Parsi dakhma, also known as a tower of silence, a structure used to expose the bodies of the dead to carrion birds. This is deeply offensive to the Parsi population of Mumbai, and one of their number sets out to exact revenge for this insult. British detective Sexton Blake matches wits with him, and the two are soon engaged in a cat and mouse game across the city.
The events of The Tower of Silence are based upon a real life incident: in August 1923 the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic printed an aerial photograph of a dakhma in Pune, taken from an angle that displayed the corpses inside. The photograph caused such outrage that the Secretary of State for India requested that the editor of The Graphic destroy both the photographic plate and negative. [2]
Gyan Prakash, a professor of history at Princeton University, came across a portion of the manuscript for The Tower of Silence in the British Library while conducting research in 2001. Having read the first half of the novel, and unable to find any information about the author, Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier, he began a search for the rest of the text. Despite the book never having been published, Prakash was able to locate a complete version of the manuscript in the Secretariat Library in Mumbai three years later. [3]
Mark Hodder, an expert of Sexton Blake, doubts Prakash's claim. [4]
Much of the coverage of the release of The Tower of Silence focussed on the unique nature of its discovery and publication. [5] In relation to the novel itself, Mumbai Boss stated that it was only an average detective story, but that "it keeps you hooked thanks to the fantastically quirky character that is Beram and the way the book captures the sentiment of the Parsi community at the time." [6]
Monsieur Zenith the Albino is an ambiguous villain created by writer Anthony Skene for the "Sexton Blake" series of detective pulp fiction.
Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications from 1893 to 1978, comprising more than 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors. Blake was also the hero of numerous silent and sound films, radio serials, and a 1960s ITV television series.
A dakhma, also known as a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation, in order to avoid contamination of the soil and other natural elements by the decomposing dead bodies. Carrion birds, usually vultures and other scavengers, consume the flesh. Skeletal remains are gathered into a central pit where further weathering and continued breakdown occurs.
Sooni Taraporevala is an Indian screenwriter, photographer, and filmmaker who is the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay!, all directed by Mira Nair. She also adapted Rohinton Mistry's novel Such A Long Journey and wrote the films Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, her directorial debut Little Zizou, and Yeh Ballet, a Netflix original film that she wrote and directed.
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet,, also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the opium trade with China.
David Sassoon was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829. He became the leader of the Jewish community in Mumbai after Baghdadi Jews emigrated there.
Mark Hodder is an English author, since 2008 living in Spain. His six-part series of 'Burton & Swinburne' steampunk novels opened with The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack, which went on to win the 2010 Philip K. Dick Award. The following two novels, The Curious Case of the Clockwork-Man and Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon, were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively to wide acclaim from fans of the genre, with the latter nominated for a Sidewise Award. His fourth novel in the Burton & Swinburne series, The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi, was also nominated for a Sidewise Award.
Ransom Riggs is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was an English crime and mystery novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His father, brother and sister also developed successful careers in the literary world. His "Ben" novels were reissued in 2015 and 2016.
The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year.
Grant Road is a locality in South Mumbai.
Bombay Velvet is a 2015 Indian period gangster film directed and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, based on historian Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar in lead roles, with Kay Kay Menon, Manish Choudhary, Vivaan Shah and Siddhartha Basu appearing in supporting roles. The film was released on 15 May 2015.
Sexton Blake is a 1928 six-part silent film serial produced by British Filmcraft. The serial stars Langhorne Burton as the fictional detective Sexton Blake, and Mickey Brantford as his assistant Tinker.
Sexton Blake and the Demon God is a 1978 six-part British BBC miniseries starring Jeremy Clyde as the fictional detective Sexton Blake. It was scripted by Simon Raven, directed by Roger Tucker and produced by Barry Letts. The serial was broadcast by BBC One at tea-time from Sunday, 10 September 1978, until Sunday, 15 October 1978. Like the 1967–1971 Sexton Blake series, it is set in the 1920s.
George Hamilton Teed was a Canadian author who also wrote under the pen-names G. H. Teed, Hamilton Teed, Louis Brittany, Peter Kingsland, and Desmond Reid. Teed was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He specialized in adventure fiction and detective stories, but also wrote science fiction and the odd romance. He is best remembered for his tales of Sexton Blake, a popular, fictional British detective who featured in a wide variety of publications in the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote close to three hundred Blake tales, more than any other author, and his creations and writings are considered "the best in Blake history before the Second World War."
The Sexton Blake Library was a story paper of the first two-thirds of the 20th century, published by Amalgamated Press. It featured the adventures of private detective Sexton Blake, his boy assistant Tinker and their dog Pedro.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors. During its golden age (1920s-1940s), Blake's adventures were widely read and translated into at least twenty different languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Arabic, Hindi, and Afrikaans.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.
During its golden age (1920s-1940s), Blake's adventures were widely read and translated into at least twenty different languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Arabic, Hindi, and Afrikaans.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors.