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