Here's what I wrote about this read in 2008: "Liked it! Good story-telling, Indian royal life in the 16th and 17th centuries. The main female character (from amazon.com online review): "the historical Mehrunnia 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". Reviews don't give the writing high marks, but still a good read." ( )

I was drawn to this book after watching the Hindi TV series named Siyasat - the best one I've ever watched - based on it. This is the story of Mehrunnisa who went on to become the Empress of the seventeenth century Mughal India after being almost abandoned by her parents soon after her birth due to poverty. This tale is a blend of recorded history and fiction - an epic love story that spans decades and the vast mughal empire. The author has done a great job of building powerful yet human characters and bringing the politics and intrigue of the era - both inside and outside of the harem - to life, making it an absorbing read.
However, the novel felt a bit too stretched out, with many repetitive descriptions, unlike the crisp adaptation on the TV. ( )

Mehrunnisa is born when her family’s fortunes are at their lowest. They’ve fled Persia and barely have enough money to make the trip to India. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A kind stranger helps them on their way and their fortunes improve.

Mehrunnisa comes to the attention of the emperor’s favorite wife as a child. Beautiful, intelligent, and witty, her charms only increase as she grows into womanhood, so that even the heir to the throne of the Mughul Empire notices her.

I’ve struggled a little lately with a bit of a reading slump. I can usually break out of those by reading a few quick fantasies. This book should not have worked for me right now but it absolutely did.

I know very little Indian history so I didn’t know anything about this emperor, his wives, or even this period in time (early 1600s). It was tumultuous, to say the least. Sons plot against their fathers to take thrones, Portuguese Jesuits are looking for Catholic converts and exclusive trading rights, English traders are trying to establish their own trade routes, and nearby kingdoms are testing the emperor as a matter of course. And that doesn’t even include the intrigue in the zenana (What I would think of as the harem, correctly or not). My ignorance meant that I was never sure what was going to happen next so I kept listening in every spare moment, eager to see what happened next.

In many ways, fortune smiles on Mehrunnisa but I could also argue that she’s cursed. Either way, her life is never dull. The author presents her as a woman who wants to determine her own fate and who’s largely driven by love and desire. But she’s clever and calculating too. I occasionally wondered which side was governing her behavior. She was realistically complex.

The rich details, foreign setting, and unfamiliar culture of this book made me feel lost in a different place and time. I could practically smell the exotic food, hear the tinkling bangles, and feel the sweltering heat as I listened. Those same details may bog the pace down for some readers though.

Sneha Mathan’s beautiful voice and soft, musical accent made her narration outstanding. I just added every available work she’s read to my library to-read list.

Readers who want to be transported to a different time and place and who don’t mind a slow pace will enjoy this one. I especially recommend the audiobook. I’ll be listening to the rest of the series soon.

My apologies for any misspellings in this review. The wonderful thing about listening to an audiobook with unfamiliar names and words is that I know how they’re pronounced; on the flip side, I don’t know how to spell them. ( )

The first in a trilogy. It is about Mehrunnisa's childhood and first marriage. At this point she has no power or influance. There is a lot about Jahangir's rebellions, trying to usurp his father. Than once Jahangir becomes emperor he has to deal with his son Khusrua doing the same thing.The book is full of political intrigue ( )

Sundaresan weaves a vivid and brutal tapestry of noble life during the Mughal Empire (northern India through Pakistan and a chunk of Afghanistan circa 1600). Building upon available accounts from the time period, we learn of Mehrunnisa who eventually becomes Emperor Jahangir's twentieth and final wife at an unconventional 34 years old. Not realizing this was part of a series (why I'm currently in the middle of so many, waaaaaaah) and being ignorant of this history, I'm eager to obtain the next installment where she becomes Empress Nur Jahan (Light of the World) and rules one of India's largest and most powerful dynasties from behind a veil. Can't get the harem's assault of color and brilliance tinged with decay scrubbed from behind my eyelids - has someone written a story about a forgotten concubine (neither smut nor a tale of rising from that station)? ( )