THE TWENTIETH WIFE, Indu Sundaresan's story of Mehrunnisa, the Persian refugee who became Empress of India during the Mughal Empire, is above all a tale of ambition. Mehrunnisa spies Prince Salim, the prince who will one day be Emperor, when she is eight years old. Despite her age, she determines to marry him one day; she's ambitious even before she understands what she wants.
Unfortunately for Mehrunnisa, she is hardly the only schemer around the Indian court. Prince Salim has rivals for the throne and for his father's affection. He also has a harem of wives and concubines, all of whom have their own positions to advance and no reason to help a beautiful young woman possessed of rare charm and intelligence. Mehrunnisa's own father, determined not to squander the good fortune he's found in his new country, has his own plans for his daughter. She finds herself married to Ali Quli, a blunt, churlish soldier who has found favor in the Emperor's court.
So much for Mehrunnisa's youthful love and hopes. Her culture is unimpressed with romance: she must put her dreams of passion aside and become a wife and mother. Mehrunnisa behaves correctly and lives up to the expectations of her family and society, only to face a series of disappointments that remove her even further from the young Emperor: her father embezzles from the royal treasury, her husband and brother are embroiled in a plot against the Emperor's life. Surely, as the years pass, if Prince Salim remembers Mehrunnisa at all, it is only as a member of a family he cannot trust.
A love like theirs, however, can't be rooted out by silly, meaningless things like time, politics, and other marriages (one for Mehrunnisa and, yes, 19 for Salim). When they meet again, it's clear where their destiny lies.
The setting of THE TWENTIETH WIFE is a repressive one for men and women alike. Duty to the Emperor's every whim is absolute and the notion of controlling one's own life would seem bizarre in their eyes. Mehrunnisa is not our culture's idea of a feminist; she does not struggle to change the laws of her society, only to fulfill her ambition within them.
This book takes us to the beginning of Mehrunnisa's power. The story of her reign as Empress will be told in a sequel, THE POWER BEHIND THE VEIL. It will be fascinating to learn what sort of ruler Mehrunnisa's youthful experiences have forged.
--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn
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