Post by New Mama on Mar 7, 2006 16:21:45 GMT -6
Just an update on some recent reading......
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sunderesan, takes place in 17th century India and highlights the imperial harem. The main character Mehrunissa, a foreigner to India, after much drama surrounding her birth falls in love and dreams of marrying the Crown Prince of India. The story is based on fact and covers the time before she marries the Prince. The author writes in her afterword, ‘the historical Mehrunissa exercised far more power than was usually allotted to an empress, issuing coins in her own name, giving orders, trading, owning property, and patronizing the arts.’
The Feast of Roses is the sequel to The Twentieth Wife and is based on her time as wife to the seventeenth-century emperor Jahangir of India. She essentially rules India from behind the veil surrounded by family plots and intrigue. I enjoyed these books notwithstanding a lack of good squirmy sexy sections.
Lastly, I’m just finishing Beneath a Marble Sky, by John Shors, which is the story of the building of the Taj Mahl. While not a sequel to the books above, The Taj was built in memory of one of Mehrunissa’s sibling’s wives, the 17th-century emperor Shah Jahan. It’s told by the emperor’s daughter Jahanara who ordered the Taj built for his wife. This book reveals yet more history about the inequities of women in 17th century India as well as a history of religious warring and politics. It’s a love story where Jahanara is mismatched in marriage by her father and has a life-ch-ch-changing affair with the architect of the Taj Mahl. I like this book a lot.
I love historical novels.
BTW, before I got on my India kick and as recommended here, I read Angles and Demons then the DiVinci Code. Interesting and fast reading. However, I felt unsatisfied with the endings.
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sunderesan, takes place in 17th century India and highlights the imperial harem. The main character Mehrunissa, a foreigner to India, after much drama surrounding her birth falls in love and dreams of marrying the Crown Prince of India. The story is based on fact and covers the time before she marries the Prince. The author writes in her afterword, ‘the historical Mehrunissa exercised far more power than was usually allotted to an empress, issuing coins in her own name, giving orders, trading, owning property, and patronizing the arts.’
The Feast of Roses is the sequel to The Twentieth Wife and is based on her time as wife to the seventeenth-century emperor Jahangir of India. She essentially rules India from behind the veil surrounded by family plots and intrigue. I enjoyed these books notwithstanding a lack of good squirmy sexy sections.
Lastly, I’m just finishing Beneath a Marble Sky, by John Shors, which is the story of the building of the Taj Mahl. While not a sequel to the books above, The Taj was built in memory of one of Mehrunissa’s sibling’s wives, the 17th-century emperor Shah Jahan. It’s told by the emperor’s daughter Jahanara who ordered the Taj built for his wife. This book reveals yet more history about the inequities of women in 17th century India as well as a history of religious warring and politics. It’s a love story where Jahanara is mismatched in marriage by her father and has a life-ch-ch-changing affair with the architect of the Taj Mahl. I like this book a lot.
I love historical novels.
BTW, before I got on my India kick and as recommended here, I read Angles and Demons then the DiVinci Code. Interesting and fast reading. However, I felt unsatisfied with the endings.