Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: May 20, 2003
ISBN: 0-7434-5640-8
Awards:
Format Reviewed: Hardcover
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Genre: Fiction -- General – Historical
Reviewed: 2003
Reviewer: Kristin Johnson
Reviewer Notes: Indu Sunderesan’s sequel to The Twentieth Wife

The Feast of Roses
By Indu Sundaresan 

     Aspasia of Miletus. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mehrunissa, a.k.a. Empress Nur Jahan of India. All three are powerful women, consorts of heads of state, accused of overstepping their authority as women and ruling through the men in their lives.

     What do you do when you’re an outspoken woman in love with a sexy ruler? Courtesan Aspasia had Pericles, leader of Athens, and was rumored to have written his speeches at a time when women were little more than property. Hillary…well, read her book. Mehrunissa, eclipsed by her famous niece/daughter-in-law Arjumand, for whom the Taj Mahal was built, plots court intrigue, demolishes her female rivals, arranges marriages, and still finds time to have a loving relationship with her main man, Emperor Jahangir of the Mughal* Empire, which allowed India to dominate the Middle and Far East in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries.

     Surely, no matter how crazy in love handsome, regal, intelligent Jahangir is with Mehrunissa (despite a knock-down drag-out that would do Bill and Hillary proud), a woman can’t be allowed to rule the empire---although Mehrunissa’s rival, Jahangir’s wife Empress Jagat Gosini, does as she pleases, as does Jahangir’s mother, Dowager Empress Ruqayya. Yet that is what Mehrunissa does, juggling shifting alliances in her family and Jahangir’s that make the road map to peace in the Middle East look like a crayon drawing. One interesting aspect is that Mehrunissa doesn’t capitalize on the much-vaunted “woman power” and “sisterhood bonding,” as her modern sisters do. She views all women, even her own daughter Ladli, as pawns in her plans. (If you think this sounds bizarre, watch The Bachelor reruns.) When Mehrunissa is dying, she regrets not bonding with her soul sisters in Jahangir’s harem and consolidating female power.

     However complex, Mehrunissa is a bold, strong, daring character who holds our attention. Add the sweep and grandeur of this lyrically-written story, and this is a must-read for history buffs and would-be powerful consorts.

(* Not to be confused with “Muggle.” That’s another book.)

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