Published Paper Details:

M. M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions (1978) occupies a significant position in twentieth-century historical fiction for its imaginative reconstruction of colonial India during the years surrounding the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Combining history, romance, politics, and cross-cultural encounters, the novel has attracted sustained scholarly interest from historians, postcolonial scholars, and literary and feminist critics. Despite this growing body of scholarship, research on the novel remains fragmented, with studies primarily emphasizing historical authenticity, colonial discourse, imperial ideology, and cultural identity. Comparatively fewer studies have critically examined women's representation and the intersection of gender with colonial power. The absence of an integrated review of existing scholarship has created a need for a comprehensive assessment of the critical debates surrounding the novel. The present study undertakes a thematic literature review of major scholarly works on The Far Pavilions published between 1980 and 2025. Using a qualitative review methodology, the study analyses peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly book chapters, and critical reviews to identify dominant research trends, methodological approaches, theoretical orientations, and existing research gaps. Rather than summarizing previous studies individually, the review synthesizes scholarship into thematic categories, including historical perspectives, colonial discourse, feminist criticism, and postcolonial identity. The review demonstrates that while scholars have extensively explored the historical, political, and cultural dimensions of the novel, comparatively limited attention has been devoted to interdisciplinary analyses integrating feminist literary criticism and postcolonial theory. The study therefore identifies significant opportunities for future research on women's representation, gender identity, and cultural negotiation within colonial historical fiction. By consolidating four decades of scholarship, this review provides a comprehensive foundation for future critical investigations of M. M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions.