Here you will find short summaries of the sinlge paragraphs in Heat and Dust, helping to remember the most important actions.  The journals, authored in the 1970s, are written in dark blue, whereas the plot dealing with the story around Olivia Rivers, which happenend in the 1920s, is written in black.   Because at the blog’s main page I have already described the content of the exposition (p.7-p.11), I will leave it out at this page.

16, 20, 24 February;  p. 11-p.18:

In Satipur, the narrator has found a  room on top of a cloth-shop being sub-let to her by the government officer Inder Lal. Although a tiny desk is her only piece of furniture, she is quite comfortable there.   One day, she gets to know Inder Lal’s wife Ritu and his mother who observes her permanently, as almost everyone does in India.  The narrator also mentions that since her arrival in Satipur she wears Indian clothes and that she is often called “hirja”- a word she knows from a letter of Olivia’s.    On February 24th, Inder Lal accompanies her to Khatm in order to show her the Nawab’s palace. During the trip to Khatm, the narrator gets to know Indian buses and Khatm’s landscape. After having arrived in the palace, she describes it and her feelings while visiting the place where Olivia has spent a lot of a time.    

1923 : p.19-p.24. :    

Douglas, Olivia and the Crawford are invited to a dinner party the Nawab gives in his palace. There, Olivia gets to know the English couple Major and Mrs. Minnies and Harry, the Nawab’s best friend, with whom she seems to be tuned to the same wavelength. That Olivia and the Nawab are interested in eachother can be noticed already at her first meeting, when Olivia enjoys the intensive gazes of the Indian prince. For days after the party, the Nawab visits Olivia at her home in Satipur with several other men from the palace, including Harry and  they stay all day.    Another invitation from the Nawab being send to the Rivers a few days after his visit is rejected by Douglas, because his superiour will not be present.

28 February;  p.25-p.28 :

While passing a traveller’s rest-house, the narrator gets to know two young men, one of them looking like an Indian ascetic, and a girl from England, all three desperate and sick off Indian life. They tell her about their different motives leading to their trip to India and their bad experiences in this country. After the watchman lets the young people in the rest-house, the narrator examines the Christian graveyard, where the Saunder’s baby was buried.

1923:  p.29-p.39 :

When Olivia sees the grave of the Saunder’s baby for the first time, she is afraid of losing her future baby, too, but Douglas calms her. The next day, she visits Mrs. Saunders who is ill. Olivia notices that Mrs. Saunders is quite different to the other English people living in India she knows: she is not as noble-minded as for example Mrs. Crawford or Mrs. Minnies and doesn’t feel happy in the foreign country.

Then, Olivia accompanies Mrs. Crawford to the Palace, to visit the Begum. In the ladies’ quarters, Olivia doesn’t feel comfortable especially due to linguistic problems. Moreover, the ladies seem to perform a kind of play, Olivia has no part in.

Afterwards, the two women drive to the Minnies’ house where they meet Mrs. Minnies and Olivia feels again left out because of the women’s friendship. When Olivia asks questions about the Nawab, both tell her that he lives separated from his wife and that he allegedly is involved in criminal affairs. Furthermore, the women want to persuade Olivia to accompany them to Simla but she declines, because she wants to stay with her husband.

Later on, Olivia also asks Harry about the Nawab’s wife. He gives her some information about the circumstances and general facts about the Nawab and about their relationship as well. Besides, he informs her that the Nawab invites her and Douglas again to a party in the Palace whereupon she answers that her husband is very busy.

1923:  p.39-p.49 :

In his job, Douglas has much to do with Indians because he has to solve manifold local problems; therefore he speaks Hindustani quite fluently. After a visit of the local rich men Olivia addresses that she would like to learn it, too, but he doesn’t show an interest in it. Instead, he tries to persuade her of joining Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Minnies to Simla but she expresses again that she won’t. When Olivia tells Douglas about the renewed invitation of the Nawab, he reacts irritated.

The Nawab has come to invite Olivia to a picnic with him and several men from the Palace and she accepts. During the quite long car journey, the Nawab does not speak a single word whereas he becomes charming when they walk to the place prepared for the picnic. There, they talk, laugh and flirt a lot. Besides, the prince shows  Olivia a shrine and tells her the story around it dealing with Baba Firdaus and Amanullah Khan, his ancestor.

8, 10, 20 March p.49-p.56:

The narrator informs the reader that from this time on, Olivia began to write personal and very detailed letters to Marcia and that Olivia never told Douglas about the picnic with the Nawab. Moreover, she gives some information about Marcia and depicts the daily routine she has developed in Satipur. Besides, she relates that Inder Lal has become more open towards her by telling her quite personal things. For instance he tells her details about the marriage with Ritu and his relationship to her.

Because not only the days but also the nights have become very hot, the people in Satipur, including Inder Lal’s family and the narrator, pull out their beds at night. One night, Ritu has a spasm collapse and the narrator helps Inder Lal’s mother to calm her.

After the incident with Ritu, the narrator and Inder Lal’s mother become friends. Inder Lal’s mother often accompanies her to the bazaar and invites her to participate in meetings she has with her friends. There she gets to know Maji. After a visit at Maji’s Inder Lal’s mother shows the narrator some suttee shrines.

1923: p.56-p.61:

In the district Mr. Crawford is responsible for, a widow complies with the command of her relatives by throwing herself into flames burning her dead husband (custom of suttee). At that time, Mr. Crawford was absent and therefore Douglas, his assistant, had to settle the matter on his own. Although he arrived too late to save the women and just arrested some fomenters, everyone congratulates him on the way he handled the situation. When Mr. Crawford returns, he gives a dinner party at which the main topic of conversation is the suttee. In this connection Olivia launches a discussion by defending the woman’s behaviour and the suttee custom in general. Intermediately, the narrator mentions that Olivia still conceals Douglas the picnic with the Nawab and that his visits become more and more frequently.

30 March :  p.61-p.63

In a grave, Inder Lal and the narrator discover a weakened boy, who turns out to be the white sadhu the narrator once met in front of the travellers’ resthouse. Inder Lal is quite interesting in this boy called Chid and therefore willing to take him to his home to “pep him up”.

10. + 15. April:   p.63-p.67:

Having recovered his heath, Chid continues living with the narrator in her room. Although Chid’s behaviour in general is quite brazen, Inder Lal is impressed with him and spends al lot of time listening to his philosophies. In fact, the narrator even offers her body to Chid to pander his sexual needs although she feels not even attracted by his appearance.

On the “Husband’s Wedding Day” the narrator accompanies Inder Lal’s mother and her friends to Baba Firdaus’ shrine, where, according to a legend, childlessness can be cured by bringing offerings to the shrine. At the place of pilgrimage, there is a kind of festival and the women spend an enjoyable day.

1923:  p.67-p.76:

The British district officers are worried about the “Husband’s Wedding Day” because on that day Muslim inhabitants always disturb the festivities with attacks. When the Nawab is criticzied due to his passivity in this affair because he is a Muslim himself, Olivia does not believe their reproaches and defends him.

Later, Harry visits Olivia and stays a few days because the atmosphere in the palace then was too exhausting for him. Mrs. Crawford comes to the River’s house again with the aim to convince Olivia of accompanying her to Simla. Then, Harry tells the women about his sick mother he is not able to visit because the Nawab does not want him to go. Mrs. Crawford says that he could go with their friends, the Ross-Milbanks, to Bombay because one berth is left on a P.&O. The next day, the Nawab comes to take Harry with him whereupon Harry does not defy. The Nawab has already cancelled the trip with the Ross-Milbanks and affirms that Harry’s mother has already recovered her health.

25. + 30. April, 2. May:  p.77-p.82:

By then, the narrator notices, she and Chid have become a part of the town. Like the town’s resident beggars and cripples, they are accepted by everyone.  Meanwhile, the dust storms have become almost insufferable and anybody is affected by the weather. Especially Ritu, whose fettle becomes worse each day. The narrator proposes psychiatric treatment to cure her but Inder Lal’s mother prefers traditional methods. Because Ritu’s condition does not get better, they eventually adopt the proposal of Maji to go on pilgrimage. Chid decides to accompany Inder Lal’s mother, Ritu and Maji on to their trip. When the narrator and Chid pay Maji a visit, she tells them about the tradition of pilgrimage.

1923:  p.82-p.90:

While Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Minnies spend their days at Simla, Olivia and Douglas enjoy their time together and become even closer to eachother. One day, at one of her visits in Khatm, the Nawab asks Olivia to play on his piano and she agrees. Then, he tells her about his wife Sandy and the things both women have in common. At that time, Douglas and Olivia start to speak seriously about setting up a separate family and are very enthusiastic about this idea. During a visit of Major Minnies and Mr. Crawford Olivia becomes bewildered, because the men accuse the Nawab of being a dacoit chief. In this connection Major Minnies tells a story about an experience he had with the Maharaja of Dhung.

12. June:  p.90-96

The narrator relates that she has received letters from Chid and describes them by comparing them with Olivia’s letters. When the narrator tells Inder Lal that she stays in India because of her weariness concerning the materialism of the West, he feels hurt and explains that he is often ashamed before her because he lives quite poorly. In this connection, the narrator tells about the Nawab’s nephew Karim and his wife Kitty, who she has visited before her trip to India. There, she got to know several facts about the Nawab and his life. 

1923:  p.97-p.102:

Harry cannot come for Olivia anymore, because he is in poor health owing to stomach problems. When Olivia pays him a visit, he urges her to cease from visiting the Nawab at Khatm. He makes several insinuations with regard to the Nawab’s attitude towards her, but Olivia argues that they are just friends. Directly after Olivia asks Harry about the dacoit affair, the Nawab enters and Harry tells him about Olivia’s question. As a result of it, the Nawab becomes excited and asks Olivia which rumours she has heard about him in connection with the dacoits affair.

In the evening, Olivia and Douglas make their usual ‘Sunday excursion’ by walking through the graveyard. Meanwhile, Olivia’s worries about the fact that she is not getting pregnant and tries to find reasons. Later, she asks Douglas about the dacoit thing. He explains to her that the dacoits are dangerous terrorists, despoiling and killing people and that the Nawab probably offers them protection for a share. Olivia cannot believe this and tries to defend the Nawab. Eventually, she is confused and bothers about the baby’s birth, probably questioning that it is Douglas baby. When she weeps thereupon, Douglas thinks her condition has to do with the heat and Olivia, happy to have this excuse, agrees.

13 June:  p.103-p.109:

The narrator discovers a very old woman, being one of the town’s beggars, lying unmoving in an alley behind Inder Lal’s house. Thinking that she might be sick or even dead, she tries to call several people’s attention, but nobody cares. Although being afraid of infection etc., she eventually ascertains herself that the old baggar woman is alive. Afterwards, she goes to the hospital Dr. Saunders headed in former times and asks the Medical Superintendent D. Gopal for help. Unfortunately, the doctor refuses her request because there is no bed for the woman in the overfilled ans ill-equipped hospital. Finally realizing that the beggar woman is ‘dispensable’, she is astounded with respect to Maji’s reaction when she tells her about the incident. Maji knows the old woman called Leelavati and wants to look for her but she has left the alley. Knowing where she might be, Maji, accompanied by the narrator, eventually detects her. After taking the woman’s head into her lap and stroking her, Maji tells the narrator about Leelavati’s life. Ultimately, the old beggar woman dies peacefully in Maji’s arms.

1923:   p.109-p.116:

One morning, Olivia tells Douglas about Harry’s illness and that she would like to contact Dr. Saunders in order that he can look after him. Detecting meanwhile that Douglas and also her feeling towards him have changed, Olivia becomes irritated and touches upon the fact that she is not getting pregnant and therefore wants to go to Dr. Saunders. Douglas again explains Olivia’s irritation with the heat and worries about her condition but nevertheless leaves. Later that morning, Olivia visits Mrs. Saunders who seems to be quite weird. She tells that she feels uneasy due to the servants who would lust after white woman. Thereupon Olivia, thinking that Mrs. Saunder’s stories are quite absurd, leaves.

Having arrived at the Palace, Olivia tells the Nawab about her idea of bringing in Dr. Saunders. Although thinking that the idea is silly, he sends a car for him. After Harry’s medical examination, the Nawab invites Dr. Saunders to stay for lunch. After a certain time, Olivia, the Nawab and Harry are tired of Dr. Saunder’s anecdotes. Consequently,  the Nawab sends him away but asks Olivia to stay. When the Nawab is told that Olivia does not know what a hirja is, he orders to bring in some singing and dancing hirjas. Thus, Olivia and the Nawab have a pleasant evening.  

20 June:  p.116-p.120:

Together with Inder Lal, the narrator goes to Baba Firdaus’ grove to have a picnic. Apart from eating and drinking, both tie two pieces of red string, Inder Lal has taked along, to the lattice in the shrine because this would allegedly accomplish their desires. Afterwards, the narrator gets close to Inder Lal although he initially seems diffident and a bit scared. Eventually, they make love at Baba Firdaus’ shrine.  

1923:   p.120-p-127:

After arriving with the car, Harry wants to rest some time at Olivia’s, but she is not really content with this idea. So they drive to the Palace, where the Nawab expects them already. He has planned to go to Baba Firdaus’ shrine and when Harry refuses to accompany them, Olivia and he Nawab go alone.  Like the narrator and Inder Lal, both tie red strings and make a wish whereupon the Nawab makes an allusion of the superstition around the shrine. When Olivia wonders who the men are she has seen during their arrival at the shrine, the Nawab begins to talk about the dacoits affair. Afterwards, the Nawab tells Olivia a story about his ancestor Amanullah Khan. Meanwhile, they gradually approach eachother and eventually sleep together.

31 July + 15 August:  p.127-p.131:

Maji, being a former midwife, acquaints the narrator with her pregnancy and offers her an abortion. Moreover, the narrator gets to know several information about Maji’s past life.

Chid returns from the pilgrimage and has changed a lot. Besides his changed outward appearance he is very quiet and in poor health. Furthermore, the narrator tells that after the day at the shrine, the relationship between her and Inder Lal has altered. Thenceforward, their relationship is close and Inder Lal even has become her frequent nightly visitor. Nevertheless the narrator, fearing that this disclosure could make Inder Lal’s life difficult, decides not to tell him about her pregnancy.

1923:   p.131-p.143:

Due to the Nawab’s financial and other troubles, the Begum decides that they will go to Mussoorie. Because Major Minnies has come to the Palace to talk with him about these troubles, the Nawab is dreadfully irritated. However, Olivia tells him about her pregnancy although her husband is still uninformed. Therefore she decides to tell Douglas also that evening, because otherwise it would be unfair.

Next day, Major Minnies has dinner with the Rivers. Again, the conversation turns on the Nawab’s involvement in the dacoits’ evil deeds. By the way, Olivia gets to know that the Begum has called off the trip to Mussoorie. During the discussion about the Nawab misdeeds, Major Minnies and Douglas agree that the Indian prince is an unsympathetic person whereas Olivia emphasises his charisma and attractive appearance. Furthermore, Major Minnies tells about the Nawab’s father’s life. When Olivia relates Harry this story, he adds some information by telling her that the Begum has allegedly tried to poison the old Nawab’s girlfriend. Then, Olivia reflects about the Nawab’s reaction to her pregnancy. He was absolutely sure that the baby was his and even asked her to stay with him forever.    

On Sunday, Olivia and Douglas go for their weekly stroll around the graves and behold Douglas’ ancestors’ gravestones. Having arrived Lt. Edwards’ grave, they talk about the future life of their child. Surprisingly, Douglas reacts in the same way as the Nawab by praising Olivia for giving birth to his son. Olivia’s following bewilderment, Douglas relates to the graveyard’s atmosphere.

20. + 27. August:   p.143-p.147:

The narrator expounds her relatedness to Douglas by telling that her father is the son, Douglas will later have with his second wife Tessie. According to the narrator, her father was born in India but eventually went to school in England. While Indian Independence was in progress, Tessie and Douglas decided to spend their years of retirement in England, whereas the Crawfords and the Minnies preferred to stay in India. But, feeling straitened by the “Indianisation of India”, the Crawfords later joined their friends and bought a house in Surrey.

Because his health does not stabilize,  Chid rests in the hospital after a medical examination by Dr. Gopal. First, there was no empty bad for Chid but when an old man died, he took his one. 

Quotidian, the narrator visits Chid in order to bring him food or just to bear him company. The condition of the hospital is as bad as the conditions of its sick and injured patients. The narrator gets to know a very poor man with a broken leg and ribs telling her his life story. However, Chid is apathatic and just waits for his ticket home. When the narrator asks Dr. Gopal about Chid’s disease, he responds that all his organs are in a very bad state owing to wrong nutrition and a wrong way of life. Moreover, Dr. Gopal mentions that in general he thinks that India is the wrong place for human beings except for the Indians being fit to live in this country. The narrator does not want to accept this statement and thinks about English people she knew having spent their lives in India. While thinking about Olivia, she comes to the conclusion that her grandfather’s first wife was not special at all. Due to the fact that she wants to verify whether she is right with her assumption or not, the narrator decides to continue undergoing what Olivia did.

1923:    p.147-149:

Harry tells Olivia about the Nawab’s remark concerning his son and the Anglo-Indian society’s probable reaction after his birth. Consequenty, Olivia is bewildered and thinks about her baby’s future skin and hair colour. Afterwards, she wants Harry to ask the Begum whether she can arrange an abortion.

31. August:    p.149-p.152:

This day, the narrator is persecuted by an Indian woman who, according to Maji, is an Indian midwife. When the narrator visits Maji, she offers her services again. Spontaneously, the narrator agrees but eventually abandons the procedure because she realizes that she wants the baby and that her pregnancy causes joy and felicity.

1923:    p.152-p.154:

The Begum has commissioned two midwives to perform an abortion on Olivia. She himself watches the operation carried out on her son’s lover. The twig rubbed with some paste hurts Olivia but she abides it.

Epiloque alias ‘The End’:    p.154-p.165:

First Flashback (pp.154-158):

After returning home, Olivia begins miscarrying the same night. Douglas takes her to the hospital, where Dr. Saunders discovers that Olivia has had a typical abortion carried out by Indian midwives. When the Anglo-Indian society gets to know this, they conclude that the Nawab has used Olivia as an act of revenge whereupon they banish her form their minds. Later, during his retirement, Major Minnies dwells on this incident and publishes a monograph warning the Europeans of the danger of India, which can threaten even the most loyal Anglo-Indian. 

Moreover, the end of the story is depicted quiet short: Olivia flees directly after her miscarriage to the palace and sees neither Douglas nor the Anglo-Indian society again. Harry moves to London in order to live with his mother until her death. When his mother dies,  he moves in together with a friend called Ferdie. After years, also the Nawab comes to London because of financial difficulties. Olivia never returns to England but spends her time in a house in the mountains, the Nawab bought for her.

Present I (pp.158-160):

Before leaving for Olivia’s mountain residence, the narrator says goodbye to Maji. She feels that Maji has wanted to perform the abortion on her not in order to let her loose the baby but to strengthen her will to keep it. Having arrived in the town X, in which Olivia spent the rest of her life, she describes the landscape in which the house is located. When she has managed to reach Olivia’s former house, she delineates the furniture including a piano and a sedan chair for the Nawab having become unable to climb due to his obeseness and his sloth.

Second Flashback (pp.160-163):

In this section, the Nawab’s last years are described. He has become fat and has a lot of financial troubles being connected with the court decision against him which brought about his loss of power in Khatm. He not only has to aliment his mother, his wife and Olivia but also his former palace companions. Being dependent on the revenue allotted him by the British authorities, he comes to London trusting that he will find a higher authority raising his allotment. In London, he also visits Harry and tells him about the dacoit’s hanging. The Nawab himself dies fifteen years later in his mother’s flat in New York.

The Nawab neither brings Olivia with him to London, nor speaks very often about her. Olivia’s letters to Marcia become rarer and eventually she stops writing her completely. When Harry meets Marcia one day, she tells him that she and her sister are much alike especially concerning temperament and character.  Harry cannot believe this due to the fact that Marcia smokes and drinks a lot and the Nawab, meeting her also, is even terrified by this consideration.

Present II (pp.163-165):

Regarding Olivia’s house, the narrator becomes curious about Olivia’s life in the mountains and wonders what she might have thought while looking out of the window and beholding the landscape. The narrator takes a room in X and later plans to go to an ashram to have her baby there.