CompleteMartialArts.com - The Twentieth Wife: A Novel
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List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $10.08
Your Save: $ 3.92 ( 28% )
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Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Washington Square Press
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: 2003-02-18
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Studio: Washington Square Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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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.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: From Persia with Love
Comment: A classic fictional account of Nur Jahan, the famous Mogul Queen, one of the few powerful women to grace Indian history. One must admire Ms. Sundaresan's imagination in compiling this fascinating biography of an independent and brilliant 16th century personality, who had captivated an emperor. Historians do agree that she was the brain behind Jahangir's reign, the fourth mogul emperor.
I have no problem agreeing with every sentence, every incident Ms. Sudaresan portrays in this "page turner".
This reminded me of historical fiction of another famous personality, Cleopatra, brilliantly portrayed by Colleen McCullough in October Horse, a fantastic account of the Egyptian queen and her affairs with Julius Ceasor and Mark Anthony. Cleopatra unlike Nur Jahan was on the losing side.
Bravo!
Customer Rating:
Summary: An engrossing read about an interesting time and place
Comment: This was a well-crafted historic novel about women in the Mughal Empire (what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan and India) several hundred years ago. Characters are engaging, and the intrigues of various attempts at the throne are shown in interesting ways, recalling similar fights for supremacy in England of old. If the test of a novel is that it interests you in the time period and setting, this one is a success.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good read
Comment: This book takes place in India during the Mughal Empire. It tells the story of one of India's great empresses, the twentieth wife of Emperor Jahangir. This empress is Nur Jahan (Light of the World), who was born just Mehrunnisa, the youngest child of an outcast Persian nobleman, born in a tent while the family flees to India to start over with nothing. As a young woman Mehrunnisa falls in love with Prince Salim, but it is a long journey to be with the one she loves.
Quote: "And Salim? He had to notice her too, or else how would she become Empress?"
Read this book. Really. It is beautiful, memorable, and hard to put down. It also revisits a woman in Indian history who is too often overshadowed by the legacy of her niece (in whose honor the Taj Mahal was built), although this book would argue that Mehrunnisa was a much more strong, significant empress. It vividly shows both the strengths and the weaknesses of women in India during this time, who were occasionally great players on the government stage, although from behind the harem walls.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Touching Story
Comment: The 20th Wife is a very touching story. I have read the book several times, and always find new emotions and new experiences in the story. The author has taken a historical figure (monghol ruler) and has woven a story around the parts of the life that is not in the history books. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical novels and heartwarming stories about life, love, heartache, loss, and triumph. This read is WORTH your time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: mediocre history and romance
Comment: I have to say I was dissappointed with this book. I really wanted to like it...it had been strongly recommended--i love history and historical fiction and the Mughal period in history, but the writing fell short. The characters are mere sketches for whom the reader cannot develop any real empathy. The romance between Jahangir and Mehrunnissa is not given any depth. There are numerous very basic cultural and linguistic inaccuracies that should have been corrected in editing. The descriptive writing borders on cliche and stereotype. Not impressed.
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