{"product_id":"the-star-of-ceylon-9781837000685","title":"The Star of Ceylon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCeylon, 1906:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eStella Polegate\u003c\/b\u003e steps off the ship in Colombo harbour, her heart beating with contradictory emotions. As her father's unofficial research assistant, she's thrilled to explore this island of ancient temples and verdant tea plantations—yet painfully aware that her brilliant mind will remain uncredited, her academic ambitions dismissed simply because she is a woman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen her father's doctoral student makes unwelcome advances that escalate to violence, Stella's carefully ordered world shatters. With her reputation and future hanging in the balance, she finds an unexpected ally in \u003cb\u003eNorton Baxter\u003c\/b\u003e, a principled young civil servant whose growing disillusionment with colonial rule mirrors her own questioning of societal constraints.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Stella navigates the suffocating expectations of colonial society, she must make an impossible choice. Should she accept the limitations imposed upon her gender or fight for the academic future she deserves? And can she trust Norton with her damaged heart when every man in her life has sought to control her destiny?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the misty highlands of Kandy to the bustling port of Colombo, Stella's journey becomes a defiant quest not only for love but for something far more elusive—the freedom to become the author of her own story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReaders who love \u003ci\u003eThe Tea Planter's Wife\u003c\/i\u003e and Lucinda Riley\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewill adore this atmospheric novel of forbidden love set in the twilight of the British Raj.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clare Flynn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48292012622075,"sku":"9781837000685","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/9781837000685.jpg?v=1772487240","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/the-star-of-ceylon-9781837000685","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}