The Spell of the Flying Foxes

Beginning in nineteenth-century Champaran, the book follows a family connected with indigo farming. The narrative moves through generations and major historical changes, including the devastating Bihar earthquake of 1934 and the period surrounding Indian independence.

Sylvia Dyer was born in 1928 and grew up in Champaran, North Bihar. Drawing on her family's history and personal memories, she recreates the world and experiences of an Anglo-Indian family.

The Spell of the Flying Foxes tells the story of the Tripe family, beginning with Alfred Augustus Tripe, who settles in Champaran to cultivate indigo. Decades later, a devastating earthquake destroys much of the family's home and leaves Gladys facing personal tragedy and a battle to protect her inheritance. As India moves toward independence and land reforms transform society, the family's old way of life gradually disappears. The book is both a family story and a nostalgic portrait of a changing India.