Originally published in 1901, 'East of Suez' was Alice Perrin's first collection of short stories. Her fascinating and thought-provoking tales of Anglo-Indian life rival the best work of Kipling, and were hugely successful in their day. Perrin tells stories of illicit love against a beautifully-drawn backdrop of the mystical east, interweaving the supernatural with exquisite details of her characters' lives. This scholarly edition includes: a critical introduction; author biography; suggestions for further reading; explanatory notes; contextual material on representations of the British Raj; illustrations from 'The Illustrated London News' and 'The Windsor Magazine'.

Alice Perrin, also known as Alice Robinson, was a British novelist renowned for her writings about the British in colonial India. Born on July 15, 1867, in Mussoorie, a hill station in Anglo-India, Perrin was the daughter of Bertha and John Innes Robinson, a Major General in the Bengal Cavalry. After being educated in England, she returned to India and married Charles Perrin, an engineer, in 1886. Feeling bored with the life of a British woman in India, Perrin turned to writing. Perrin's novels often delved into the lives of missionaries in India, although she expressed skepticism and lacked enthusiasm for their endeavors. In 1925, Perrin and her husband relocated to Switzerland, but tragedy struck when their only child passed away in London three years later. Alice Perrin died in Vaud in 1934, leaving behind a literary legacy that shed light on the complexities of colonial India and garnered praise for her storytelling prowess.