WINNER of the 2022 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN AWARD
for BEST FICTION OF THE YEAR!
LONGLISTED for 2022 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD!
She rose from commoner to become the last reigning queen of India's
Sikh Empire. In this dazzling novel, based on true-life events,
bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni presents the unforgettable
story of Jindan, who transformed herself from daughter of the royal
kennel keeper to powerful monarch.
Sharp-eyed, stubborn, and passionate, Jindan was known for her beauty.
When she caught the eye of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, she was elevated to
royalty, becoming his youngest and last queen--and his favorite. And
when her son, barely six years old, unexpectedly inherited the throne,
Jindan assumed the regency. She transformed herself from pampered wife
to warrior ruler, determined to protect her people and her son's
birthright from the encroaching British Empire.
Defying tradition, she stepped out of the zenana, cast aside the veil,
and conducted state business in public, inspiring her subjects in two
wars. Her power and influence were so formidable that the British,
fearing an uprising, robbed the rebel queen of everything she had, but
nothing crushed her indomitable will.
An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale
about loyalty and betrayal, a powerful parable of the indestructible
bond between mother and child, and an inspiration for our times, Chitra
Banerjee Divakaruni's novel brings alive one of the most fearless women
of the nineteenth century, one whose story cries out to be told.
