Returned to Devil's Island

About the Book

RETURNED TO DEVIL’S ISLAND is a Biographical Fiction, riveting and masterfully told South Sea Islands saga. It tells a story of inter-racial childhood love that survives the brutal regime of a remote convent school during the 1940s. Two young lives betrayed and doomed but destined for life beyond the grave. Krishna (later baptized and named James) a Hindu youth escapes; the less fortunate Susan is confined and brutalized by a sect-like Order to follow its path. The diverging lives set James’s feet on a journey through paradise islands. Before him lies a sharp learning curve of love, lust and triumph in the boxing ring. Driven ever onwards by a consuming passion to reach the mother country, England. His arrival coincides with the Liverpool’s music sound, conquering the world of entertainment. A casual acquaintance of the Beatles, his Hindu ethos may have triggered John Lennon’s pursuit of his own Far Eastern dreams.

About the Author

Chris Nand was born in Fiji to destitute Hindu parents of second generation descendents of the thousands taken by British colonialists from India as indentured labour, to work the sugar cane plantations at the end of the 19th century. Destined for a life of grinding poverty his parents offered the six-year old an escape route by placing him with a Catholic boarding school to receive an education. Their departures from the Hindu faith lead to family dissent and alienation. Baptized at the age of six he was sixteen years old on leaving the institution. Struggling on his own he trained as a boxer and achieved championship success whilst working his way through several exotic occupations. Using his sporting prowess and his savings, Chris doggedly continued his epic odyssey to reach England. Having married, settled into and accepted by the social and industrial culture of Britain, Chris and his family made their way to Spain's Costa del Sol. There, he became a success in both real estate and managerial entertainment. Drawing on his considerable experiences and natural ability to write and record life's adventures, his novel Returned to Devil's Island at proof stage is already receiving rave returns.