Loot

Young woodcarver Abbas has created a marvel - a mechanical tiger unlike anything the world has seen before. When it's stolen he must search across the world to reclaim it. In Mysore, young toymaker Abbas works with the French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze to create a spectacular mechanical tiger. The tiger changes his life, drawing him into patronage, friendship, danger and his first encounter with Jehanne, a woman with a fierce imagination and ambitions of her own. When British soldiers ransack Mysore in 1799, the tiger vanishes into imperial hands. Abbas must cross seas and borders to reclaim his legacy. Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award, Loot is a witty, tender historical novel about Indian history, colonial theft, craft, memory and the strange afterlife of stolen things. 'Loot held me spellbound from the first page...an expertly plotted, deeply affecting novel ' Maggie O'Farrell 'A cinematic novel of empire, colonialism and romance' Guardian 'Vivid and witty' Observer 'Highly recommended' Mail on Sunday

Tania James's debut novel Atlas of Unknowns was a New York Times Editor's Choice and was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian literature. She has also written the short story collection Aerogrammes, and her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Granta, Freeman's: The Future of New Writing, One Story and A Public Space. The Tusk That Did the Damage was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. From 2011 to 2012, Tania James was a Fulbright fellow to India living in New Delhi. She now lives in Washington DC.