A much underrated book, this. Anyone expecting the usual Jimgrim/Ommony type adventure story is in for a surprise. Things begin fairly usually for a Mundy story, however, and it seems the reader is on to a tale that combines natural conservancy with intrigues and plots of officialdom and priests and capitalists. But gradually things change. Yes, all those early elements remain. But what promised to be a bit of a mystery turns into a full blown comic novel. With the babu supplying one laughable line of broken English after another, the plot soon turns into a romantic farce. Settings, actions, dialogue, and schemes become ever more outrageous. The Marriage of Meldrum Strange, as the title might indicate, also is something of a bedroom farce, with confused couples falling into one of the greatest jokes on a Mundy hero ever devised. It would spoil the plot to go too much further. But this is a fun joyful book to read. Mundy is clearly demonstrating his versatility as a writer. And if you get tired of the intricate plots, there is always Mundy's intense and poetic descriptions of the Indian forest to fall back on. ( )