Heir from Calcutta

The action of the book unfolds in the 18th century. The heir to the noble title Frederick Ryland and his fiancée Emily are returning from Calcutta to the shores of England. The pirate ship captained by Bernardito boards their vessel. The subsequent events develop rapidly, the plot lines are intertwined in various corners of the globe – England, Italy, Spain, on the coast of Africa, and in North America. The extraordinary twists of the plot, vivid characters – all of this keeps the reader engrossed in the book.
The edition includes an afterword by Felix Shtilmark, narrating the life and work of the writer, as well as the completely fantastic story of the creation of "Heir from Calcutta".

Robert Alexandrovich Shtilmark (1909–1985) is a remarkable Russian writer, the author of the legendary novel "Heir from Calcutta". The book was written in 1950–1951 in a Stalinist camp. In a letter to his son, Shtilmark reported that he "invented something adventurous, insanely complicated and entertaining, that doesn’t fit into any frame". The novel was published in 1958 and instantly became a bestseller.