Rough Passages

Alice Robinson was born on the 15th July 1867 in the hill station of Mussoorie, India.Raised in a wealthy military family, she was educated in England. After marrying Charles Perrin, a government engineer, they returned to India in 1886. To combat the isolation and boredom experienced by British women living in the colonies, Perrin turned to writing. In 1901 she achieved widespread popularity with her ghost story collection, 'East of Suez', which deftly blended supernatural elements with Anglo-Indian cultural friction. Over her career, she published seventeen novels and further short stories exploring themes of displacement, interracial tension, and the female complexities of colonial life under the British Raj.After moving to Switzerland late in life, Alice Perrin died on the 13th February 1934 at her home, Bellaria, in La Tour-de-Peilz. Tin Vevey, Switzerland. She was 66.