The English Problem: A Novel By Beena Kamlani

A YOUNG INDIAN MAN IS TAPPED TO HELP HIS COUNTRY’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM—BUT HIS HEART ENGAGES HIM IN A DIFFERENT WAR.

Set against the sweeping backdrop of the pre-independence Indian independence movement and pre-war London, The English Problem is a breathtakingly ambitious and richly textured historical debut. Eighteen-year-old Shiv Advani is no ordinary young man: he has been personally chosen by Mahatma Gandhi to travel to England, master British law, and return home to help drive the empire out of India. Before departing, he is hastily betrothed in an arranged marriage to a young woman he barely knows.

Arriving in a damp, chilly London in 1931, Shiv expects a straightforward mission—get in, learn the law, and get out. Instead, he finds a multifaceted "English problem" that infiltrates not just landed territories, but the territories of the mind, language, literature, and self-identity. As he navigates university life, forms close bonds within London’s creative circles (including appearances by historical figures like Virginia and Leonard Woolf), and faces the stinging realities of racist colonialism, Shiv is torn between duty to his family, loyalty to Gandhi's cause, and a society he is simultaneously repelled by and drawn to. In the end, he must fight not only for his country's liberation, but his own.

Why this book is a must-have:

• Acclaimed Debut: Hailed as a grand, mesmerizing, and politically profound historical novel by critics and bestselling authors alike.

• Vivid Historical Immersion: Expertly transports readers between 1930s Britain and pre-partition India, capturing the psychological weight of displacement and colonialism.

• Complex Characters: Features an engaging, deeply flawed, and conflicted protagonist caught in the crosscurrents of history, love, and ambition.

• Richly Thematic: Explores profound questions surrounding race, class disparities, sexuality, duty, and the true meaning of belonging.

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