M. M. Kaye

Mary Margaret ('Mollie') Kaye (21 August 1908 - 29 January 2004) was a British writer. Her most famous book was The Far Pavilions (1978).

1 Life
2 Work
3 Footnotes
4 Sources and External Links

Life

M. M. Kaye was born in Simla, India, and spent her early childhood and much of her early-married life there. Her family ties with the country are strong: her grandfather, father, brother and husband all served the British Raj and her grandfather's cousin, Sir John Kaye, wrote the standard accounts of the Sepoy Mutiny and the First Afghan War. After India's independence, her husband, Major-General Goff Hamilton of Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (the famous Indian Army regiment featured in The Far Pavilions), joined the British Army and for the next nineteen years M. M. Kaye followed the drum to Kenya, Zanzibar, Egypt, Cyprus and Germany.

M. M. Kaye won worldwide fame for The Far Pavilions, which became a worldwide best-seller on publication in 1978. Shadow of the Moon and Trade Wind, although originally published prior to The Far Pavilions, were reissued after that novel's success. She also wrote and illustrated The Ordinary Princess, a children's book (called "refreshingly unsentimental" by an article in Horn Book Magazine)^[1] which she originally wrote as a short story,^[2] and wrote a dozen detective novels, including Death in Kashmir and Death in Zanzibar. Her autobiography has been published in three volumes, collectively entitled Share of Summer: The Sun in the Morning, Golden Afternoon, and Enchanted Evening. In March 2003, M. M. Kaye was awarded the Colonel James Tod International Award by the Maharana Mewar Foundation of Udaipur, Rajasthan, for her "contribution of permanent value reflecting the spirit and values of Mewar".

Work

Autobiography: Share of Summer

Part 1: The Sun In The Morning 1990
Part 2: Golden Afternoon 1997
Part 3: Enchanted Evening 1999

Historical Novels

The Far Pavilions 1978
Shadow of the Moon 1957, revised in 1979
Trade Wind 1963, revised in 1981

Suspense Novels: The Death in... Series

Death in the Andamans (originally published as Night on the Island) 1960, revised in 1985
Death in Berlin (originally published as Death Walked in Berlin) 1955, revised in 1985
Death in Cyprus (originally published as Death Walked in Cyprus) 1956, revised in 1984
Death in Kashmir (originally published as Death Walked in Kashmir) 1953, revised in 1984
Death in Kenya (originally published as Later Than You Think 1958 and It's Later Than You Think) 1960, revised in 1983
Death in Zanzibar (originally published as The House of Shade) 1959, revised in 1983

Other Novels

Six Bars at Seven 1940 - writing as Mollie Kaye **M M Kaye's first novel**
Strange Island 1944 - writing as Mollie Kaye (original version of Night on the Island)
Wound of Spring 1961, unpublished

Far Pavilions Picture Book 1979

Children's Stories

Black Bramble Wood 1938 - writing as Mollie Kaye, illustrated by Margaret Tempest
Gold Gorse Common 1945 - writing as Mollie Kaye, illustrated by Margaret Tempest
The Ordinary Princess 1980 - written and illustrated by M M Kaye
Potter Pinner Meadow 1937 - writing as Mollie Kaye, illustrated by Margaret Tempest
Thistledown 1981 - written and illustrated by M M Kaye
Willow Witches Brook 1944 - writing as Mollie Kaye, illustrated by Margaret Tempest

Children's Stories Illustrated (but not written) by M M Kaye

Adventures in a Caravan by Mrs A C Osborn 1950
Children of Galilee by Lydia S Eliott 1950
The Cranstons at Sandly Bay by Phyllis I Norris 1949
The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi by E W Grierson 1950
The Two Pins by C B Poultney 1949

Radio Plays

England Awakes - a one act play, broadcast on All India Radio c. 1940
A series of playlets based on the war news - broadcast on All India Radio c. 1940

Books Edited or Introduced by M M Kaye

Complete Verse by Rudyard Kipling 1990
Costumes and Characters of the British Raj 1982 by Evelyn Battye
Golden Calm by Emily, Lady Clive Bayley and Sir Thomas Metcalfe 1980
Making of The Jewel in the Crown 1983 Various contributors including M M Kaye
Moon of Other Days - Selected Verses by Rudyard Kipling 1988 [ Paintings by George Sharp ] (sketches and watercolors by M M Kaye)
Original Letters from India: 1779-1815 by Eliza Fay 1986
Picking Up Gold & Silver - Selected Short Stories by Rudyard Kipling 1989
Simla - The Summer Capital of British India by Raja Bhasin 1992