The Last Queen

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Publication Date: May 10, 2022 by William Morrow & Company

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I am Rani Jindan, Mother of the Khalsa. That is my identity. That is my fate.’

Daughter of the royal kennel keeper, the beautiful Jindan Kaur went on to become Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s youngest and last queen; his favourite. She became regent when her son Dalip, barely six years old, unexpectedly inherited the throne. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, passionate, and dedicated to protecting her son’s heritage, Jindan distrusted the British and fought hard to keep them from annexing Punjab. Defying tradition, she stepped out of the zenana, cast aside the veil and conducted state business in public. Addressing her Khalsa troops herself, she inspired her men in two wars against the ‘firangs’. Her power and influence were so formidable that the British, fearing an uprising, robbed the rebel queen of everything she had, including her son. She was imprisoned and exiled. But that did not crush her indomitable will.

An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale about loyalty and betrayal, and a powerful parable of the indestructible bond between mother and child, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s unforgettable novel brings alive one of the most fearless women of the nineteenth century, an inspiration for our times.

My thoughts:

Oh my! This book is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the historical fiction world. For too long authors have largely focused their efforts on the royal families of Europe and Russia. Divakaruni provides readers with the deliciously textured lives of the royal family of the Sikh Empire in what is now Punjab, Pakistan. This book focuses on the wife of the last autonomous maharaja of Punjab, Maharani Jind Kaur. Divakaruni deftly unravels a love story between Jind and Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Readers will be awed by the sumptuousness of the palace and the luxuries that the wives were accustomed to. As Jind weaved her way through palace intrigue, she learned the complexities of competing religious factions and how that impacted political decisions. When her son Dalip rose to the position of Maharara, Jind used every lesson she had ever gleaned from her husband to strengthen her son’s position against the pressure of the rival British forces. She fought her entire life to preserve her son’s heritage and continue her husband’s legacy. From the writing style, to the richness of the culture, to the strength of its main character, this book is a fantastic read!

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.