Indu Sundaresan

The story of Mehrunnisa, the daughter of servents who became the an empresses of the Mughal empire.

A Novel

The Twentieth Wife

The love story of Emperor Jahangir and Mehrunnisa, begun in the critically praised debut novel The Twentieth Wife, continues in Indu Sundaresan's lush second novel, The Feast of Roses. Here, Mehrunnisa comes into Jahangir's harem as his twentieth and last wife. This time Jahangir has married for love, and members of his court are worried that Mehrunnisa could exert control over their futures. Their concerns are well founded. Mehrunnisa soon becomes the most powerful woman in the Mughal Empire in spite of a formidable rival in the imperial harem who has schemed and plotted against her from the start. She rules from behind the veil, securing her status by forming a junta of sorts with her father, brother, and stepson -- and risking it all, even her daughter, to get what she wants. But she never loses the love of the man who bestows this power upon her....

The Feast of Roses

The daughters of Emperor Jahangir, Jahanara and Roshanara, plot and scheme against one another in an attempt to gain power over their father’s harem. As royal princesses they are confined in the imperial harem and not allowed to marry. However, this does not stop them from having illicit affairs or plotting the next heir to the throne. These royal sisters are in competition for everything: power over the harem, their father’s affection (still focused on his dead wife), and the future of their country. Unfortunately, only one of them can succeed. And, despite their best efforts to affect the future, their schemes are eclipsed, both during their lives and in posterity, as they live in the shadow of the greatest monument in Indian history, the Taj Mahal. With a flair and enthusiasm for history and culture, Sundaresan creates a story full of rich details that brings the reader deep into the world of the lives of Indian women and their struggles for power and consequence.

Shadow Princess

The Kohinoor diamond, a jewel of 186 carats called the mountain of light, has passed from ruler to ruler in India, Persia, and Afghanistan, and is promised to the son of the ruler of Punjab, until the British conquest of India results in it ending up in the possession of young Queen Victoria.

The Mountain of Light

The Splendor of Silence

A volume of short tales about contemporary Indian women caught between tradition and modernity includes the story of a young Indian woman, adopted and raised by an American family, who is entreated by her biological family to prevent the wrongful execution of a young widow. 25,000 first printing.

Stories

In the Convent of Little Flowers

Fernando Dias Antunes

A festa das rosas: romance

Sultan Shah Jahan menghalangi cinta Jahanara, putrinya dengan Najabat Khan, pria bangsawan yang tampan, dengan menikahkan bangsawan tersebut dengan adik sang putri, Roshanara. Pengorbanan Jahanara sejak ditinggal ibunya untuk mengurus adik-adik dan ayahnya seolah sia-sia. Jiwanya pun memberontak.

the shadow princess

Jahanara

Marion Balkenhol

Roman

Die Tochter des Rajas

Internationally bestselling author Indu Sundaresan's “Taj Trilogy,” now available as an ebook boxed set, features three of her most critically acclaimed novels transporting readers back in time to India's renowned Mughal Empire. THE TWENTIETH WIFE: An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India's most controversial empresses -- a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in Mehrunnisa's embattled love with Prince Salim, and in the bedazzling destiny of a woman -- a legend in her own time -- who was all but lost to history until now. THE FEAST OF ROSES: The love story of Emperor Jahangir and Mehrunnisa, begun in the critically praised debut novel The Twentieth Wife, continues in Indu Sundaresan's lush second novel, The Feast of Roses. Here, Mehrunnisa comes into Jahangir's harem as his twentieth and last wife. This time Jahangir has married for love, and members of his court are worried that Mehrunnisa could exert control over their futures. Their concerns are well founded. Mehrunnisa soon becomes the most powerful woman in the Mughal Empire in spite of a formidable rival in the imperial harem who has schemed and plotted against her from the start. She rules from behind the veil, securing her status by forming a junta of sorts with her father, brother, and stepson -- and risking it all, even her daughter, to get what she wants. But she never loses the love of the man who bestows this power upon her. SHADOW PRINCESS: Critically acclaimed author Indu Sundaresan picks up where she left off in The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses, returning to seventeenth-century India as two princesses struggle for supremacy of their father’s kingdom. Trapped in the shadow of the magnificent tomb their grief-stricken father is building for his beloved deceased wife, the emperor’s daughters compete for everything: control over the imperial harem, their father’s affection, and the future of their country. They are forbidden to marry and instead choose to back different brothers in the fight for ultimate power over the throne. But only one of the sisters will succeed. With an enthusiasm for history and a flair for rich detail, Indu Sundaresan brings readers deep into the complicated lives of Indian women of the time period and highlights the profound history of one of the most celebrated works of architecture in the world, the Taj Mahal.

The Twentieth Wife, Feast of Roses, and Shadow Princess

The Indu Sundaresan Collection

Arriving in the west India state of Rudrakot where he hopes to find his idealistic brother, who went missing after joining the local struggle for independence from the British, wounded World War II army captain Sam Hawthorne finds his search complicated by his love for the daughter of a political agent. By the author of A Feast of Roses. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

A novel set against the exotic backdrop of the Mughal dynasty of sixteenth-century India chronicles the life and times of Mehrunnisa, an intelligent, ambitious, and beautiful young woman who became one of India's legendary heroines.

Twentieth Wife

The Mughal Empire is crumbling. With the death of his beloved queen Mumtaz, Emperor Shah Jahan slowly loses interest in everything, while his sons conspire and scheme to gain control of the empire. Princess Jahanara is only seventeen when the weight of the imperial zenana is thrust upon her. Shah Jahan's favourite daughter, she is the most important woman in the harem and is forced to remain at the Mughal court all her life, caught up in the intrigues and power politics of her siblings, sacrificing her own desires for the sake of her father. Rich in detail and atmosphere, this sequel to The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses is another glorious retelling of life in Mughal India.

A volume of short works reflects the challenges and consequences faced by modern Indian women and features such characters as an adopted woman who is contacted by her orphanage caretaker aunt, a journalist's grandson who tries to prevent an execution, and an unwed teen whose family is thrown into chaos by her pregnancy. Reprint.

Indu Sundaresan

About

Books

Join the club