''From the wide veranda you stepped out on to an acre of lawn, as smooth as glass; from the lawn you stepped on to nothing but fresh air.'' A summer of the 1870s, the Himalayan resort of Simla, in colonial India. To the cool of the hills comes a reluctant Dr McNab, with his wife and young niece. For Emily, romance is in the air. For the mysterious Mrs Forester, there is scandal brewing. And for the Bishop of Simla, rain clouds are not the only storms on the horizon. The Hill Station is the novel on which J. G. Farrell was working at the time of his tragically early death. It demonstrates powerfully what a great loss to literature this was. ''Remarkable, captivating from page one'' Evening Standard