Product Description

Beautiful, dark-haired Lily has been abandoned in a Birmingham slum as a tiny child. With few clues as to her identity she endures a childhood of loneliness and loss. At eighteen she applies for a post as nanny with the family of a Captain Fairford, a soldier in Ambala, north India and his highly strung wife Susan. Lily is drawn into the emotional life of the Fairford family and adores her charge, two year old Cosmo.

When, in 1907, Captain Fairford orders a new Daimler car, it is brought out by a young motor mechanic, Sam Ironside. Sam and Lily fall deeply in love, and it is only later that Lily learns that Sam is married and feels utterly betrayed. When Cosmo is later sent home to school, Lily finds another post with a Dr. McBride and his invalid wife, in a beautiful Himalayan hill station. The place is idyllic, and Lily settles for a quiet life. However, she is unprepared for the pain and misunderstandings that follow and force her to run from everything she has known . . .

Where Earth Meets Sky takes us from Edwardian England and the British Raj, through the darkness of the Great War to the glamour of Brooklands Race Track in the 1920s. Spanning two continents, it is a story of enduring friendships and two hearts which cannot be kept apart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60827 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

From the Author
This is a book that I have especially enjoyed writing. It has
a particular pull for me because the seed idea for the story comes from an
experience of my maternal grandfather, though I never met him. In 1905, he
was working as a mechanic at the Daimler Motor Company in Coventry, during
the early days of car manufacture. When a car was exported in those early
times, the company often sent a mechanic along with it to teach its buyer
to drive and maintain it, eespecially as it would be driven on foreign
terrain. My grandfather was sent twice to India with a car, the first time
to the northern cantonment town of Ambala, where he stayed for several
weeks. This has always fascinated me, and as it links two of my passions -
the history and people of the West Midlands and India - I could feel a
story growing out of it. So, on July 7th 2005 I set off to Ambala... As I
boarded the plane the TV screens were giving the first news of terribly
explosions in London and the next day the news was all over the 'Times of
India'... Apart from that continuing news, it was a wonderful journey, both
to Ambala and to the hillstation of Mussoorie and for me it was the best
kind of journey of all - one which is also the making of a story. 'Where
Earth Meets Sky' is the result.
I do hope many of you will enjoy it too.

About the Author

Annie Murray was born in Berkshire and read English at St John's Oxford. Her first job took her to Birmingham where most of her books are set. Her first 'Birmingham' novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written eight other successful novels, including, most recently, Family of Women. She has four children and now lives in Reading.

Customer Reviews

A lovely novel to read
Where Earth Meets Sky by Annie Murray is lovely novel to read. The novel recaptures a historical phase. India was ruled by the British for many years, after the long existence of the moguls. Britain was the most powerful empire in the world, as unfolded in the novel. As a reader, you will learn a great deal about past events. The commonwealth represents an important chapter in British history. The British commonwealth is included in our education syllabus today. The wealthiest families owned huge mansions and staged traditional English tea parties in the most scenic areas of India including the enchanting beauty of the Himylas. The women were portrayed as domestic figures in the household, with the aid of native servants. The man held senior ranks in the army. The novel provides a real historical insight that is beautifully depicted.

The story focal point is about a young and beautiful lady Lily. She leaves the land where she was raised as an orphan and embarks on a long and daunting journey to the majestic land of India. She is acquainted with a charming captain and her snobbish wife to be employed as a nanny to an adorable child. She later joins the household as a housekeeper of a pocessive doctor and ill wife. The novel is a real journey of Lily's life not just in India, but includes later adventures in Britian. Her beauty and nice personality attracts huge amount of interest, but is an unwanted contributor of deception and betrayal. She ends up in situations unexpectly.

Where Earth Meets Sky is a great joy to read and lovely piece of historical fiction to read. It shifts between the industrial settings of Midlands and the the Raj period of India. If you express a deep interest in history, then I would recommend this particular novel to read. It is beautifully and vividily written and it feels though you are relieving events as it unfolds.

Excels as usual
I thoroughly enjoyed this book although totally different to her other books which are normally stories woven around Birmingham. Ms Murray sent her central character to India. Therefore,there weren't so many references to B'ham. But,nevertheless the storyline made compelling reading. I have read all of her books and cann't wait for her next novel, which I have no doubt will be soon,as she has become a prolific writer.I hope though that she will return to base her books on and around B'ham as I relate to these better especially living in the B'ham area. More, more, more Ms Murray.

a new direction for annie
A completely new direction for Annie Murray. This novel is set in India and England and apart from a few brief references to Birmingham she has departed from her usual setting.It is alovely novel and really grips you and of course it all turns out Ok in the end.