Harriet started out in fan fiction, as the young niece of one of the canon characters. However, she turned out to be so much fun to write and so popular that I realised she was going to have to grow up and move into her own independent universe with her own story. I therefore wrote several more stories which were, as it were, hybrids, in order to give Harriet a reasonable back story while at the same time easing her gently from one universe to another. I was especially keen to make the transition gradual as a number of other characters had by now appeared and were moving with her, and it became somewhat like repotting a plant. One needs to avoid damaging the root system.
The essential elements of Harriet's back story, purged of fan-fictional references, are as follows. She is the niece of an Ambassador, who previously had an almost fatally interesting career as a spy. He has relatives in Lucknow on his mother's side of the family, and had been wanting to go and visit them for many years; when that opportunity finally arose, he took Harriet with him, who was eighteen at the time and about to go up to Oxford to read mechanical engineering. In Lucknow she was introduced to Pradhi Bajpai, who was also about to study at Oxford; in his case, law.
Harriet and Pradhi fell in love very quickly, and were eventually married at the conclusion of their studies. However, things did not go without a hitch in the meantime, as the former employers of Harriet's uncle were keen that she should follow in his footsteps as a spy, and not at all scrupulous as to how they persuaded her. Knowing that she would never agree to work for them while Pradhi was alive, they attempted to arrange a little "accident" for him, which was thwarted through a combination of the young couple's own vigilance and Harriet's wily uncle (and his agent, Matthew Forrest, whom you will meet again in their later adventures). Consequently, Harriet and Pradhi are not entirely unused to danger and intrigue. It will stand them in good stead...
The essential elements of Harriet's back story, purged of fan-fictional references, are as follows. She is the niece of an Ambassador, who previously had an almost fatally interesting career as a spy. He has relatives in Lucknow on his mother's side of the family, and had been wanting to go and visit them for many years; when that opportunity finally arose, he took Harriet with him, who was eighteen at the time and about to go up to Oxford to read mechanical engineering. In Lucknow she was introduced to Pradhi Bajpai, who was also about to study at Oxford; in his case, law.
Harriet and Pradhi fell in love very quickly, and were eventually married at the conclusion of their studies. However, things did not go without a hitch in the meantime, as the former employers of Harriet's uncle were keen that she should follow in his footsteps as a spy, and not at all scrupulous as to how they persuaded her. Knowing that she would never agree to work for them while Pradhi was alive, they attempted to arrange a little "accident" for him, which was thwarted through a combination of the young couple's own vigilance and Harriet's wily uncle (and his agent, Matthew Forrest, whom you will meet again in their later adventures). Consequently, Harriet and Pradhi are not entirely unused to danger and intrigue. It will stand them in good stead...