Edited 1 April 2013

I wrote a second review for All About Romance and rated this a Desert Isle Keeper.

4.5 stars

I read a lot of novels by Victoria Holt when I was in my twenties, so when I saw that Sourcebooks was reissuing The India Fan, I was eager to discover how it would hold up twenty-five years after its original publication.

I am extremely happy to report that the answer is “very well indeed”.

This isn’t one of the titles I’d already read, so all I had to go on was the synopsis, although I a More...

I want to start by saying that I really liked this book. I give it 5/5 stars. This is not a new book either, but a 1998 book re-leased with a new cover for 2013. I love the cover!!! I have not read any of Victoria Holt’s Books (or so I thought-see note at the end). I thought that they were sappy romance novels, but that is not the case. This book like the one above I think has a wide reading appeal. There are secrets, lies, deception, blackmail, a double-crossing, a double suicide, a wealthy est More...

Although somewhat rambling and a bit longer than a bit longer than I thought it should be, I gave this five stars as it is on the whole an excellent read. Druscilla Delany is the daughter of the rector. Nearby is Framling, a house of nobility which of course has two spoiled children. Druscilla is elected to be companion to the younger child Lavinia with whom she goes away to boarding school first in England and then in France. For all her beauty, Lavinia is remarkably empty headed and constantly More...

THE INDIA FAN by Victoria Holt is an interesting historical fiction set in set against a backdrop of England and France. What is the real meaning of the peacock feathers fan,could it really be cursed, Drusilla Delany will soon find out. For hidden deep within the Framling Mansion is a dark secret. Then you have the dominating,brooding Fabian Framling who is either friend or foe. "The India fan" is an epic Gothic romance filled with danger,sensual tension,betrayal,secrets,a curse or two, deceptio More...

Originally posted at: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/bo...

Peacock feathers have long been thought to be unlucky. So when Drusilla accidentally comes to possess an India fan made of peacock feathers she has to decide whether she lets the unlucky myth follow her for the rest of her life, or try to live her life to the fullest.

Drusilla spent her entire life watching the eccentric Framlings live a life of privilege and little consequences. Drusilla, the practical one, spends too many years tryin More...

The India Fan is one of my favorite Victoria Holt titles and I'm grateful that not only did Sourcebooks choose it to kick off their reissued Holt collection, but they've given the book an amazingly beautiful cover!

Though the gothic romance is now boiled down to a short list of particular elements, Victoria Holt was the queen of the genre for a reason: her heroines were strong, intelligent, independent, and winsome, the settings were always exotic even if it was just Yorkshire or Cornwall, the di More...

Originally published in:
http://rominasbkreviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-india-fan-victoria-holt-19882013.html#more


Book Source: Net Galley

This was one of the last novels written by Eleanor Hibbert, better known as Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, and Philippa Carr. This extraordinarily prolific writer, who according to this excellent page, jeanplaidy, wrote about 211 books in her lifetime under all her pseudonyms and sold more than 100 million books worldwide, including 23 bestsellers. The India Fan More...

Victoria Holt got me through college. Her romantic suspense novels were just the kind of escapism reading that I needed to relax myself after a hard day of studying environmental engineering. I have read and own almost all of her novels, but do have a few left that I need to read. At that time, I found most of her novels at antique stores and used book stores, my favorite hunting ground. I was more than a little bit excited to see that Sourcebooks is starting to republish some of Holt’s fiction. More...

"A mesmerizing story of blackmail, romance, and deception."
ASSOCIATED PRESS...and yet I almost gave up on this book. But I'm glad I didn't! I'm learning that reading Victoria Holt is more like a "slow burn" rather than "explosive" as far as the development of the story. She is a master story-teller, really developing the characters and bringing things to an exciting and satisfying close. Drusilla Delaney(ew, horrible name, but I digress), the daughter of an impoverished minister, becomes fascina More...

this is a very interesting book with a beautiful story... the author manages to keep us hooked until the end.
Drusilla is a very good narrator.

It's got information about the Indian Revolt, although some are not correct, but it's very good read!

People who say that the characters are not very strongly built, need to consider that Drusilla is narrating the story, hence we learn about the characters solely from her point of view. Some things about the characters are not very detailed, true, but that More...

This was my first Victoria Holt novel. There were things I liked and things I disliked about the book. I really liked the main characters. They were vividly described and stayed true to who they were throughout the book. The story had places it caught hold of me and flew and was so interesting. I learned about a time period I didn't have much knowledge of before. I did like the whole idea of the story and was happy with the ending. But oh my gosh it took forever to get there. There was a lot tha More...

Took a while to get into--this book was originally written in 1988. It takes place in the late 1800s in England, so the language is archaic and formal. A young girl, Druscilla, is the daughter of a minister, but lives next door to a rich family's estate. She gets involved in the family's doings because the matriarch wants her to be her daughter, Lavinia's friend. She also has a loathing for Lavinia's older brother, Fabian. The two girls go away to school together and remain friends even after La More...

Excellent VH novel. Less formulaic than some others of hers. I thought the love story was very good and their relationship seemed realistic to me and the he was more than a stock figure too. This novel was less 'Gothic suspense' than most VH novels, the main drama was really what was really going on in India at the time, and that provided the danger and suspense rather than some more typical Gothic type of story. I also liked that the main character Drusilla wasn't just 18-21 during the novel, t More...

No ha sido de mis favoritos. Me resulto repetitivo.
Drusilla no me gusto se paso la novela como espectadora mientras las cosas interesantes le pasaban a Lavinia, solo corrio riesgo cuando ayudo a Lavinia a salir de un problema. Por lo demas dejo que la influencia de la Familia Frambling la llevara de aqui para alla.
Aunque ella juraria que no, solo porque no se dejo casar con quien Lady Harriet queria, pero si fue al colegio porque ella asi lo quiso y se fue a India porque Fabian asi lo quiso y el More...

As with all her books, well researched, easy to read, these have always been my go-to books when life gets hectic around me. I know that I will not have to commit all sorts of energy into following the characters or the plot lines. I know that there will be just enough "sexual tension" to titillate, without clubbing me over the head repeatedly with heaving "bosoms" and rampant male "nether parts." I know the heroine will always end up with the misunderstood good guy in the end ... her books are More...

Jane is in the Eyre.

With the ceaseless supply of heroines who "don't know they're beautiful," it's rather refreshing to find a novel that adheres to the Jane Eyre standard of romance: that is, the heroine is not especially attractive but eventually manages to woo others over time with her wit, good sense, and intelligence. That is precisely how a healthy relationship SHOULD work, and the fact that it took several years for Drusilla (our Jane) to meet her match was exceptionally delightful.

Our na More...

..Okay, it's been a while since I've finished reading it, so I may not do the book some justice.. ..Do forgive me on that.. Ü
..Even though the main character, Drusilla Delaney, is just sensible, it doesn't mean I can't love her!.. ..She have everything to make me root for her!.. ..I admire her so much..
..Victoria has this 'power' to make me so absorbed and I really do not want to put the book down and sleep..
..It's a must read for every Victoria Holt fan and history lovers..

One of the best-selling Victoria Holt books that take place in the Victorian era. The settings are rural England and India. Drusilla is a rector's daughter who becomes involved with the aristocratic neighboring family. Her life is closely tied with the family, both the beautiful and strong-willed daughter (her childhood friend) and her handsome brother. The Sepoy Mutiny in India provides some of the dramatic background of the story.

Okay, so I have read this book about 10 times, starting when I was teenager and my mom gave it to my sister as a christmas gift. It is completely chic lit, horrible writing, but I just love the story. It is a historical romance, taking place in england and india during the 1850s, touching a little bit on the indian mutiny against the english during that time. Again, really bad writing, but I guess it is just my go-to guilty pleasure.

I recall reading a great many books (the titles escape me so I cannot add them to my goodreads list) by Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart at a time when I was in a reading slump - too many heavy classes maybe. She provided just the right amount of recreation and escape at the time. I found this book a pleasant read, but not so compelling I will seek out another right away.

I read this book because it was in the house in Taiwan and I remember that my sister living with me had read it before me. It was captivating, but I recall not liking this so much because of the way it made me feel ... So, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. Something made me suddenly remember this book that I read back then.

I love the way Victoria Holt builds her characters. I can see a common thread in all her female protagonists. I can now even predict the ending, but can't help reading the full book. She is just so good at creating the atmosphere. I can visualise each and every scene and trust me, the scenes are really picturesque.

This was an ok read. It was easy to follow but it seemed to drag. Some of the dialogue between characters didn't read so smoothly. I could easily put the book down to do something else, but I also wanted to know the end...which credits the author. It was clean but dealt with mature subjects.

Ok. I admit it. I really like MOST Victoria Holt books. I am not sure if it is because I like the time period or they are just fun with romance and mystery. They definitely aren't deep or thought provoking, but good mindless reading. India Fan is one of my favorite of hers.

A very interesting story, although from the viewpoint of the invaders who are defending the British Imperialist rule in India, but it is an historic fact and the occupiers are not expected to be on the side of the people or the resistance. This book explains their feelings.

Not unlike 'Secret for a Nightingale' but a more delicate touch. The heroine is Drusilla, the rector's daughter, and the haughty aristocrat is the much spoiled Fabian Framling. (Yes, Fabian). The historical event is the Sepoy Mutiny, which takes far too much exposition to be the truly horrifying event it was. However, the exposition is interesting, esp. the friendship that grows between 'plain and senisble' Drusilia and Lavinia, Fabian's pleasure seeking little sister. That is really the main st More...

Drusilla’s life has been somewhat governed by the Framling family, especially by young Fabian who considered her his toy for a brief time in their childhood and his sister Lavinia, a spoiled beauty who finds Drusilla a perfect friend and accomplice…

This is a great romance novel (especially for a huge VH fan like me), sweeping the reader from England to France, and India with its exotic environment, sometimes frightening customs, and historical struggle to rid itself of the British occupation. Co More...

My sister gave me this book because she knows I love historical fictions and especially those set in British India. It was good, definately a chick book :) Some parts I was not happy to put into my mind, but an OK read.