Westport, CT - Westport Historical Society will host a book talk and signing with Ms. Sharmishtha Roy Chowdhury on Thursday, April 5 from 7 – 8 pm. A long-standing fascination with creative writing and history led to the publication of Ms. Chowdhury’s historical fiction novel The Communist Cookbook, set in India during World War II, is a compelling tale of espionage and divided loyalties. Sharmishtha is a writer and trained historian. She was born in the tiny town of Pathankot, India, on the India-Pakistan border and lived and studied in many parts of India. In addition to a scholarly book on Britain, India and World War I, she is currently working on a second historical fiction novel set in British India during its 1947 Partition, a bloody prelude to Independence. She has lived in Westport for the last 18 years and has taught history at both the University of Connecticut and at Emerson College, Boston.