A Conspiracy in Calcutta is the third book I’ve read from the Songs of Freedom series, and it’s my favourite so far! For one, Calcutta is a city that is close to my heart. I spent just a couple of years there, but they were important, full years.
More than the setting, though (unlike with That Year at Manikoil), I loved the story. The protagonist Bithi is a child after my own heart. When I studied about the struggle for independence, I often dreamt of having lived in the 1940s, marching with Gandhi, doing something meaningful, and making it to History textbooks. And that’s what drives Bithi. Her father says that she will make history. Bithi is fired by the idea; she just needs to figure out how to go about getting her name in History books.
I also loved the weaving together of plots and subplots in A Conspiracy in Calcutta. Each character has a unique arc. Bithi’s Ma surprised me. I thought she would be … different. Yet, even as she emerges as someone quite different from the Ma of my imagination, she is wholly believable, a bundle of strength and weakness.
A spunky protagonist, a heartwarming story, brief chapters that kept me turning the pages – all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed A Conspiracy in Calcutta.
| Title | A Conspiracy in Calcutta |
| Author | Lesley D. Biswas |
| Tags | Historical Fiction, Songs of Freedom, Middle Grade |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4.5 |
| Age-group | 10+ |
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