Overview

‘I witnessed the dwindling glow of the British Empire. I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions’ Mishal Husain always knew that the lives of her four grandparents changed forever in 1947, as the new nation states of India and Pakistan were born. But what she had was a partial story, a patchwork of memories and anecdotes: hurried departures, lucky escapes from violence and homes never seen again. Decades later, the fragment of an old sari sent her on a journey through time using letters, diaries, memoirs and audio tapes to trace four lives shaped by the Raj, a world war, independence and partition. Mumtaz rejects the marriage arranged for him as he forges a life with Mary, a devout Catholic from a struggling Anglo-Indian family, while Tahirah and Shahid watch the politics of pre-partition Delhi unfold at close quarters. As freedom comes, bonds fray and communities are divided, leaving two couples to forge new identities, while never forgetting the shared heritage of the past.

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9780008531690

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Reviews

‘At times this book feels like vital history, which just happens to read like a great novel. At other times, it reads like a novel that just happens to inform us about great history. The prose is always clear and the characters are unforgettable. One of the best memoirs I've read in years’ SATHNAM SANGHERA, author of Empireland and Empireworld - PRAISE FOR MISHAL HUSAIN and THE SKILLS: 'She has quietly earned a reputation as one of the country’s most formidable political interviewers. Fellow broadcasters admire her precision – and politicians admit that the prospect of facing her questions makes them uneasy' Amelia Gentleman, Guardian ‘A compelling primer on how women can forge a path to success. The practicality and clarity of Husain’s advice offers a source of new strength for women in the daily battle to both fulfil their potential and get their due in the workplace’ Tina Brown ‘From speaking up to rising up, this book is full of practical advice for young women ready to realise their full potential’ Malala Yousafzai ‘This book is a must-read for anyone (woman or man) who aspires to reach the top of their game’ Miriam González Durántez ‘With the confidence and authority of a woman who has both attained her dream job and loves it, she meditates on what it took for her – and other women – to work their way there. This is not a memoir; it’s more a feminist manifesto’ Daily Mail

‘At times this book feels like vital history, which just happens to read like a great novel. At other times, it reads like a novel that just happens to inform us about great history. The prose is always clear and the characters are unforgettable. One of the best memoirs I've read in years’ SATHNAM SANGHERA, author of Empireworld ‘This is the most important and accessible book I have ever read about the days leading up to and surrounding the partition of India. I read it as one would a thriller, a page-turner; a fabulous achievement by a skilled writer, packed with facts but floating like a butterfly. I cannot recommend it strongly enough’ JOANNA LUMLEY ‘If you love Mishal’s broadcasting, you’re going to be utterly enchanted by this meticulously researched story of her family set against the backdrop of partition, end of empire and the trauma of upheaval’ JON SOPEL - PRAISE FOR MISHAL HUSAIN: 'She has quietly earned a reputation as one of the country’s most formidable political interviewers. Fellow broadcasters admire her precision – and politicians admit that the prospect of facing her questions makes them uneasy' GUARDIAN

‘At times this book feels like vital history, which just happens to read like a great novel. At other times, it reads like a novel that just happens to inform us about great history. The prose is always clear and the characters are unforgettable. One of the best memoirs I've read in years’ SATHNAM SANGHERA ‘Mishal Husain weaves an intricate family web that catches all the hope and optimism, as well as the tragedy and disappointment of the birth of Pakistan and independent India in 1947. With clarity, warmth and profound sympathy, as well as some brilliant archival detective work, she performs a fascinating act of reconstruction of the world that disappeared in Partition. In many ways, Mishal Husain shows us, with so many intricate threads irreparably broken, 1947 has yet to come to an end’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE ‘This is the most important and accessible book I have ever read about the days leading up to and surrounding the partition of India. I read it as one would a thriller, a page-turner; a fabulous achievement by a skilled writer, packed with facts but floating like a butterfly. I cannot recommend it strongly enough’ JOANNA LUMLEY ‘Spell-binding – a love story and an extraordinary personal journey set against some of the greatest upheavals of the 21st century. A book that is as moving as it is important’ PETER FRANKOPAN ‘If you love Mishal’s broadcasting, you’ll be utterly enchanted by this meticulously researched story of her family set against the backdrop of partition, end of empire and the trauma of upheaval’ JON SOPEL

PRAISE FOR MISHAL HUSAIN: 'She has quietly earned a reputation as one of the country’s most formidable political interviewers. Fellow broadcasters admire her precision – and politicians admit that the prospect of facing her questions makes them uneasy' Amelia Gentleman, Guardian PRAISE FOR THE SKILLS: ‘A compelling primer on how women can forge a path to success. The practicality and clarity of Husain’s advice offers a source of new strength for women in the daily battle to both fulfil their potential and get their due in the workplace’ Tina Brown ‘This book is a must-read for anyone (woman or man) who aspires to reach the top of their game’ Miriam González Durántez ‘From speaking up to rising up, this book is full of practical advice for young women ready to realise their full potential’ Malala Yousafzai ‘With the confidence and authority of a woman who has both attained her dream job and loves it, she meditates on what it took for her – and other women – to work their way there. This is not a memoir; it’s more a feminist manifesto’ Daily Mail

Author Information

Mishal Husain is one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's influential Today programme and the television news on BBC One. Her work has taken her from Davos to Rohingya refugee camps and from interviewing Prime Ministers to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Mishal has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the 500 most influential people in Britain. Born in the UK in 1973, she grew up in the Middle East and was later educated at Cambridge University, where she read law.

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