Teatime for the Firefly is the debut novel by Shona Patel. It is set in the Assam Tea Gardens in India during the 1940’s, just before India’s independence. This is a wonderful novel that transported me to Assam the entire time. (It helps to drink a good cup of Assam tea while reading)!

Patel’s parents were Assam tea planters, and although this is not their story, she drew on personal experience to evoke the rich atmosphere of colonial society and the tea plantations at the time. I could almost feel the jungle buzzing around me.

Patel’s writing is wonderful, lyrical, evocative; her characters are well drawn and I was pulled into their story from the first page. This is a great book, full of history, culture and tea. Highly recommended.