Book Review: The Last King In India
Although it is gratifying to note the independence of the judiciary, the problem of the king's creditors remained.The Last King in India is the story of an extraordinary man whose memory still divides opinion sharply today. Somewhere between the two extreme polarized opinions lies a complex character, a man who married over 350 women, who directed theatrical events lasting a month and who built a fairy tale palace in Lucknow. Wajid Ai Shah was written out of the history books after his kingdom was annexed to the Empire in 1856. Some even thought he had been killed during the uprising the following year. But he lived on in Calcutta where he spent the last years of his life trying to recreate his lost paradise.
This book is a powerful retracing of the story of his life based on original documents from Indian and British archives and meetings with his descendants. While most well researched biographies tend towards the more dense and scholarly format, this book did surpass the limitation and is highly readable biography of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Written in a strong and vivid narrative style, this is a fascinating and insightful portrait of the character and deserves to be present in the library of every individual who is interested in the life of the Nawab.
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Insightful and absolutely readable. I had received the review copy from Random House India. Thank you Random House India for giving me this opportunity. You can buy this book at Flipkart in case you live in India.
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