Overview

Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire. Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, leading troops into battle, signing imperial orders, and astutely handling matters of the state. Acclaimed historian Ruby Lal uncovers the rich life and world of Nur Jahan, rescuing this dazzling figure from patriarchal and Orientalist clichés of romance and intrigue, and giving new insight into the lives of women and girls in the Mughal Empire. In Empress, Nur Jahan finally receives her due in a deeply researched and evocative biography that awakens us to a fascinating history.

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Reviews

"""Also outstanding is Ruby Lal’s Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, the story of the first and only female ruler of the Mughal Empire."" -- Simon Heffer, History Books of the Year 2018 - The Telegraph ""A luminous biography... It is a captivating account, its depth of detail recreating a world whose constraints of lineage would seem to preclude the advance of an unknown, self-made, widowed queen... Lal’s book is an act of feminist historiography."" -- Rafia Zakaria - The Guardian ""Lal’s intriguing biography, with its chronology of her relatively swift rise to power and even swifter descent, restores Nur Jahan to her full splendour."" -- 10 Books to Read in July - BBC Culture ""... meticulous book... In filling in the details of Nur Jahan's life, Ms Lal has not only written a revisionist feminist biography; she has also provided a vivid picture of the Mughal court, with its luxuries, beauties, intrigues and horrors."" -- The Economist ""... marvellous...”"" -- Prospect's History Books of 2018 - Prospect ""Ruby Lal, an Indian historian now teaching in America, faces exactly these challenges in writing the biography of the Mughal empress Nur Jahan, a near contemporary of Elizabeth I. That she succeeds so admirably with a relative lack of authentic material is a tribute to her dexterity as a writer. She enlivens the mostly austere historical record by including (with due caveats) the many entertaining legends that have accrued around Nur Jahan over the centuries. In so doing she not only paints an absorbing portrait of a remarkable woman, but also offers a stylish reconstruction of a fascinating slice of Mughal life."" -- The Telegraph ""Lal has done a service to readers interested in the Mughal period and the many forgotten or poorly remembered women of Indian history."" -- Vikas Bajaj - The New York Times Book Review ""Lal... does a marvellous job of piecing together the scant evidence about her heroine's life."" -- The Irish Independent"

Also outstanding is Ruby Lal's Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, the story of the first and only female ruler of the Mughal Empire. -- Simon Heffer, History Books of the Year 2018 - The Telegraph A luminous biography... It is a captivating account, its depth of detail recreating a world whose constraints of lineage would seem to preclude the advance of an unknown, self-made, widowed queen... Lal's book is an act of feminist historiography. -- Rafia Zakaria - The Guardian Lal's intriguing biography, with its chronology of her relatively swift rise to power and even swifter descent, restores Nur Jahan to her full splendour. -- 10 Books to Read in July - BBC Culture ... meticulous book... In filling in the details of Nur Jahan's life, Ms Lal has not only written a revisionist feminist biography; she has also provided a vivid picture of the Mughal court, with its luxuries, beauties, intrigues and horrors. -- The Economist ... marvellous... -- Prospect's History Books of 2018 - Prospect Ruby Lal, an Indian historian now teaching in America, faces exactly these challenges in writing the biography of the Mughal empress Nur Jahan, a near contemporary of Elizabeth I. That she succeeds so admirably with a relative lack of authentic material is a tribute to her dexterity as a writer. She enlivens the mostly austere historical record by including (with due caveats) the many entertaining legends that have accrued around Nur Jahan over the centuries. In so doing she not only paints an absorbing portrait of a remarkable woman, but also offers a stylish reconstruction of a fascinating slice of Mughal life. -- The Telegraph Lal has done a service to readers interested in the Mughal period and the many forgotten or poorly remembered women of Indian history. -- Vikas Bajaj - The New York Times Book Review Lal... does a marvellous job of piecing together the scant evidence about her heroine's life. -- The Irish Independent

Lal... does a marvellous job of piecing together the scant evidence about her heroine's life. -- The Irish Independent Lal has done a service to readers interested in the Mughal period and the many forgotten or poorly remembered women of Indian history. -- Vikas Bajaj - The New York Times Book Review Ruby Lal, an Indian historian now teaching in America, faces exactly these challenges in writing the biography of the Mughal empress Nur Jahan, a near contemporary of Elizabeth I. That she succeeds so admirably with a relative lack of authentic material is a tribute to her dexterity as a writer. She enlivens the mostly austere historical record by including (with due caveats) the many entertaining legends that have accrued around Nur Jahan over the centuries. In so doing she not only paints an absorbing portrait of a remarkable woman, but also offers a stylish reconstruction of a fascinating slice of Mughal life. -- The Telegraph ... marvellous... -- Prospect's History Books of 2018 - Prospect ... meticulous book... In filling in the details of Nur Jahan's life, Ms Lal has not only written a revisionist feminist biography; she has also provided a vivid picture of the Mughal court, with its luxuries, beauties, intrigues and horrors. -- The Economist Lal's intriguing biography, with its chronology of her relatively swift rise to power and even swifter descent, restores Nur Jahan to her full splendour. -- 10 Books to Read in July - BBC Culture A luminous biography... It is a captivating account, its depth of detail recreating a world whose constraints of lineage would seem to preclude the advance of an unknown, self-made, widowed queen... Lal's book is an act of feminist historiography. -- Rafia Zakaria - The Guardian Also outstanding is Ruby Lal's Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, the story of the first and only female ruler of the Mughal Empire. -- Simon Heffer, History Books of the Year 2018 - The Telegraph

Author Information

Ruby Lal is an award-winning historian of India and professor of South Asian history at Emory University whose writing has appeared in Time, BBC History, and Literary Hub. She is the author of Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her most recent book, Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan, was longlisted for the prestigious Cundill History Prize and received praise from the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Times Literary Supplement, among others. She divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and Delhi, India.

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