Bombay, 1921

The novel occurs in this Indian city, save for the brief time Perveen is in the Sodawalla home in Calcutta. Massey creates a historical account of Bombay in the early twentieth century, a bustling city with neighborhoods of Parsis, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. Within a half-mile of the Mistry house is the High Court, Elphinstone College, the dockyard that is based on Bombay Harbor, and the Victoria Terminus train station. Land’s End, where Cyrus and Perveen meet rather scandalously by themselves is about six miles from the city center.

Mistry House

Built in 1875 in Gothic style with twenty-foot ceilings, the Mistry House is located in Fort, Bombay’s first settlement. The marble foyer, lit by sconces, holds a portrait of her grandfather, Abbas Kayam Mistry, the builder. It is elegant and stately, and the first building on the block to get electricity. Perveen’s grandfather still lives...