Munni At My Doorstep

The setting could be anytime, anywhere in the world, and the protagonist could be any single working woman. Here, the protagonist is Clara Ferguson, a Scottish spinster missionary in British India of the 1890s. One night, a frantic woman pounds on her door and abandons an infant at her feet. What should she do? Such is Clara's dilemma. The novel opens on this night.

Even though she learns about the dangers of keeping baby Esther (Munni), Clara decides to do just that. There follows stigma, covert and overt prejudice, and real danger from a birth family bent on eliminating the child. While Esther is told that she is adopted, Clara doesn't tell her about the birth family until it is too late.

The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of colonial British rule, reigning maharajas, epidemic and famine in India, and the First World War and Spanish 'flu in the British Isles. The focus is on Clara's relationship with her adopted daughter as they navigate their circumstances.

"Munni At My Doorstep" is an intriguing, humane historical fiction novel where transracial adoption overcomes cross-cultural prejudice.