Star of India by Alice Perrin is about sheltered Stella Carrington who receives a surprising proposal from a local officer in the India Civil Service. Excerpt: "I dare not choose my lot; I would not if I might. Choose thou for me, my God, So shall I walk aright. The rustic portion of the congregation shouted the familiar hymn with laborious goodwill, overpowering the more cultivated voices that rose from the chancel and the front pews—almost defeating the harsh notes wrung from the harmonium by the village schoolmistress, who also led the singing in a piercing key, supported raucously by her pupils gathered about the unmusical instrument."