Alison McQueen's "Under The Jewelled Sky"

Born in the Sixties to an Indian mother and an English jazz musician father, Alison McQueen grew up in London and worked in advertising for twenty-five years before retiring to write full time. Her 7th novel is Under The Jeweled Sky.

McQueen is also the author of a popular series of British comedy novels written under her married name (published by Macmillan 2005-2011) and featured on Channel 4′s Richard & Judy Show.

Here the author dreamcasts an adaptation of Under The Jeweled Sky:

Under The Jewelled Sky is a tragic tale of love and loss set in the dying embers of the British Raj. The story unravels the fragile construct of a severely dysfunctional British family and watches its slow disintegration in the wake of World War II and the subsequent partition of India.

There are some great characters in the novel – juicy roles an actor can really get their teeth into. I would be tempted to cast Jude Law as the palace physician Dr Schofield – he’s old enough now to take on the part and I think it would suit him well. For his vexatious wife, I’m thinking Helena Bonham Carter. Richard E. Grant would make the perfect Mr Ripperton, aide to the Maharaja, and the role of his eccentric wife, Fiona Ripperton, would go to Meryl Streep.

For the heroine of the story, Carey Mulligan would make a great Sophie – she brings a real sense of sincerity to every role - and I would put Raza Jaffrey in the role of the hero, Jag. The wonderful Waris Ahluwalia would be brilliant for the part of the Sikh friend, Navinder, and Sophie’s diplomat husband, Lucien, would be played by the superb Damian Lewis.

And the soundtrack would come from Nitin Sawhney. The man is a complete genius.

Learn more about the book and author at Alison McQueen's website.

--Marshal Zeringue