New Arrivals on West India Dock Road

Welcome to West India Dock Road, in Londons East End.

An array of businesses lines this crooked street: a butchers, a sailmakers, a Jewish shop, a Chinese hostelry, a lodging house for people of all nationalities. A snatch of song wafts from a music hall, mingling with the scent of the public house nearby, the swell of the Thames and the call of seagulls. The air tastes of yearning

1938: Divya has made the long sea journey from India to England, employed as a nanny by a British family. But once they arrive, she is cruelly abandoned, with no means to return home. Afraid and alone, she faces prejudice and rejection until she finds her way to an Irish-run boarding house on West India Dock Road and meets Jack, Charity and a host of unexpected friends.

Divya is a good cook, and preparing meals for the other immigrants, homesick for the food they were raised on, gives her a new sense of hope and purpose. In time, she opens a thriving curry house, beloved by the local communities.

But as war in Europe looms, Divyas fragile sense of belonging through her business, her friendships and budding romance with sailor Raghu comes under threat.

A world away from home, will she ever truly find happiness in life, on West India Dock Road?

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Stunning! Renita DSilvas writing is sublime; I could taste the chilli on my tongue and smell the cardamom in the air Incredible Inspired me with every page An important story that embraced my heart. Reader review

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