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"An exotic work of historical fiction"

In the seventeenth century, most of India, that is those who would care about the emperor's harem, would expect that Jahangir's twentieth wife of twenty wives would be lower than an Untouchable. However, the Empress Nur Jahan, previously called Mehrunnisa, does not settle in her role as she breaks the tradition of royal life and the accepted behavior of females in the country. Mehrunnisa can get away with a lot more than say Jahangir's nineteen previous spouses, as she is the first woman he actually loves. The Emperor actually cedes her much power to run the country though her harem rivals led by scheming Empress Jagat plan to run her off and the court ministers refuse to have some upstart female steal any of their power.

Showing inner strength Mehrunnisa refuses to allow either of these two influential groups to stop her rise. She turns to her father, her brother, and the son of her husband for support. Though the fight is difficult and she and her daughter become estranged, through the love of Jahangir she never gives up.

The sequel to the delightful THE TWENTIETH WIFE, THE FEAST OF ROSES is an insightful look at the royal court of seventeenth century India. Though at times a bit slow, the story line is loaded with historical tidbits leading readers to conclude that Indu Sundaresan magically sent her audience back in time. Mehrunnisa is a strong lead protagonist, who quickly understands the balance of power and how to manipulate in a Machiavellian manner. The support cast provides insight into this protagonist. Ms. Sundaresan provides another Taj Mahal historical fiction.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 23, 2003

The love story of Emperor Jahangir and Mehrunnisa, begun in the critically praised debut novel The Twentieth Wife, continues in Indu Sundaresan's The Feast of Roses. This lush new novel tells the story behind one of the great tributes to romantic love and one of the seven wonders of the world -- the Taj Mahal.

Mehrunnisa, better known as Empress Nur Jahan, comes into Jahangir's harem as his twentieth and last wife. Almost from the beginning of her royal life she fits none of the established norms of womanhood in seventeenth-century India.

Mehrunnisa is the first woman Jahangir marries for love, at the "old" age of thirty-four. He loves her so deeply that he eventually transfers his powers of sovereignty to her.

Power and wealth do not come easily to Mehrunnisa -- she has to fight for them. She has a formidable rival in the imperial harem, Empress Jagat Gosini, who has schemed and plotted against Mehrunnisa from early on. Mehrunnisa's problems do not just lie within the harem walls, but at court, too, as she battles powerful ministers for supremacy. These ministers, who have long had Emperor Jahangir's confidence and trust, consider Mehrunnisa a mere woman who cannot have a voice in the outside world.

Mehrunnisa combats all of this by forming a junta of sorts with three men she can rely on -- her father, her brother, and Jahangir's son Prince Khurram. She demonstrates great strength of character and cunning to get what she wants, sometimes at a cost of personal sorrow when she almost loses her daughter's love. But she never loses the love of the man who bestows this power upon her -- Emperor Jahangir. The Feast of Roses is a tale of this power and love, the story of power behind a veil.