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Kenize Mourad

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In the City of Gold and Silver Kindle Edition

by Kenizé Mourad (Author), Anne Mathai (Translator), Marie-Louise Naville (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 76 ratings

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An enthralling historical novel based on the little-known female warrior in nineteenth century India who led a revolt against the British.

Here is the long-forgotten story of Begum Hazrat Mahal, queen of Awadh and the soul of the Indian revolt against the British, brought to vivid life by the author of Regards from the Dead Princess, a major bestseller in her native France.

Begum was an orphan and a poetess who captured the attentions of King Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh and became his fourth wife. As his wife, she incited and led a popular uprising that would eventually prove to be the first step toward Indian independence.

Begum was the very incarnation of resistance: As chief of the army and the government in Lucknow, she fought battles on the field for two years; she was a freedom fighter, a misunderstood mother, and an illicit lover. She was a remarkable woman who risked everything only to face the greatest betrayal of all.

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About the Author

Kenize Mourad was born in France to a Turkish Princess and an Indian Raj. For almost fifteen years, she was a reporter and war correspondent, working, most notably, at Le Nouvel Observateur. De la part la princess morte has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been translated into 34 languages. This is Mourad's first novel.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079MHGFKJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Europa Editions (November 4, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6485 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 405 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #796,562 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #124 in Historical Middle Eastern Fiction
- #200 in Biographical Literary Fiction
- #290 in Historical Asian Fiction

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4.2 76 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

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Michel Karma

Excellent book, both from an historical account and a ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2014

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Excellent book, both from an historical account and a romanticized novel. For once, the Westerners (the British) are generally speaking "the bad guys", and most of the story is written from an Indian and Muslim alternate viewpoint. An excellent read, helps better understand contemporary warfare.

5 people found this helpful

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Kim

The Story of 1857 via Begum Hazrat Mahal

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013

Little is known and written about 1857 (the First War of Indian Independence) from the Indian perspective. Most easily available accounts today are from the British perspective and the British press of the time. So in their language, 1857 was a mutiny, a revolt by the armed forces, not a mass uprising against them and their practices in India.

Vishnu Bhatt Godshe Versaikar's 1857: The Real Story of the Great Uprising is one of the few personal accounts from an Indian perspective that has been published in English. Mahmoood Farooqui's Besieged: Voices from Delhi 1857 is a unique perspective in which Mahmood has translated correspondence between aam aadmi - common people - during the run up to 1857. Sangeeta Bhargava's - The World Beyond is set in Lucknow, during 1857, but its more about an impossible love story than history. But neither of these books speak about the strategy and the planning that went into this First War of Indian Independence and how it was scuttled by an untimely revolt in Meerut.

Kenize Mourad's "In the City of Gold and Silver" fills in this gap very well. While it is a book of Historical Fiction, the facts haven't been altered.

In the City of Gold and Silver revolves around Begum Hazrat Mahal - one of the wives of Wajid Ali Shah the ill fated Nawab of Oudh (Awadh). After facing multiple ignominies by the East India Company, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is unceremoniously deposed and deported to Calcutta. He takes some of his wives and children with him, while his Queen Mother Malika Kishwar heads to England to petition the British Queen to restore her son's kingdom to him.

Begum Hazrat Mahal is left behind in Lucknow, with her son Birjis Qadar. With the help of a few loyalists like Raja Jai Lal, the endorsement by Bahadur Shah Zafar, and allies like the Rani of Jhansi, Nana Saheb and Maulvi of Faizabad she launched a formidable defense and attack against the British.

In the City of Gold and Silver is the tale of a dancing girl who grew up to become one of the most powerful women in India in the 19th century and one of the few people who actually threatened the might of the East India Company. Politically astute and a leader of the masses, she successfully unites the masses and the gentry to repel the invaders. However, in the long run, the First War of Indian Independence did not succeed in driving out the British and Begum Hazrat Mahal and her son were finally exiled into Nepal.

Kenize Mourad has researched this book, very thoroughly, quoting both British and Indian sources. But the tale she spins, is so masterfully crafted, that while it brings history alive, it also keeps the reader hooked into the story. The present continuous style of writing is a little tedious at first, but I soon learned to ignore it as the story was so gripping and captivating.

The success of a book for me is in how emotionally involved it makes me and this was a book I got very emotional when reading. I am not easily prone to anger, but some of the facts and the callous nature of the East India Company when it came to dealing with the "natives" quite enraged me. I was completely unaware of the role of the Nepali Prime Minister and the Sikh regiments during 1857 and it was quite a shocking revelation for me. I always thought of the Salar Jungs as wealthy philanthropists who gifted their collection to the country in the form of Hyderabad's Salar Jung Museum, so it was equally shocking to learn that Salar Jung I - Prime Minister of the Nawab of Hyderabad in 1857 was an Anglophile and prevented the Nawab from joining the war.

I just wish history in schools was taught with details like these that make characters come alive rather than just rote memorisation of names and dates.

This book in the wrong hands could be quite incendiary, but what the reader needs to realise is that this is history, its time has passed. The generations of today cannot be held responsible/accountable/liable for what happened 150 years ago or what their predecessors did. The only thing that we can learn from history is how not to repeat the mistakes from our past.

This is a definitely a book worth reading.

7 people found this helpful

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Ramana Gadiraju

Awesome

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2013

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A must read. Anyone who loves history and especially interested in learning about the Indian History, they would love it.

One person found this helpful

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Rajiv Chopra

A Fitting Tribute To An Extraordinary Woman And Queen

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2015

This is an excellent book. It is a romanticized story of Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow, who was married to Wajid Ali Shah, "The Last King Of India". Unlike him, who was a foppish character, the Begum was an extremely admirable character. It is a pity that not too many people remember her.

The Begum was one of the key players in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, not that too many of the British historians who have covered the events of the times mention her adequately.

The book traces her history from that of a young child to her imprisonment in Nepal. The character development is masterful, and the book has a steady pace. This is an extremely good tribute to an extraordinary woman, one who gave up her life and her riches for her ideals, but never compromised on her ideals.

A highly recommended book.

3 people found this helpful

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Waheed Rabbani

In 1844, a fourteen-year-old orphan girl dances in the “house of fairies” in Lucknow, Awadh, India.

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2015

In 1844, a fourteen-year-old orphan girl dances in the “house of fairies” in Lucknow, Awadh, India. Her beauty and poetic abilities catch the eye of Nawab Wajid Ali. He marries her (as his fourth wife) and, following the birth of a son, names her Hazrat Mahal. The fun-loving nawab relishes the good life.

Although Wajid is gleefully governing Awadh under a treaty with the British East India Company (BEIC), they are displeased with his extravagant spending of Awadh’s abundant resources. When in February 1856, the BEIC forcefully annexes Awadh, Wajid decides to plead his case before Queen Victoria in London. He sets off with his entourage, leaving Hazrat behind, despite her pleadings. The BEIC’s sepoys mutiny in May 1857, and Awadh’s population joins in the rebellion, proclaiming Hazrat’s teenage son as the king. Hazrat, as queen-regent, takes charge of the rebel army, their first objective being to oust the Europeans ensconced in the British Residency.

While the failure of the 1857 Mutiny is historical fact, this brilliant atmospheric novel presents another perspective on its events. Based on extensive research, Murad also used her family’s primary sources: her father was an Indian raja. The real motives of the BEIC in annexing Awadh, the insight on how Hazrat rose to become a rebel queen, and the causes of the rebellion are all narrated in depth. Moreover, some very plausible details are dramatized on why the rebel army, despite overwhelming numbers, was unable to repel the much smaller, albeit better armed, BEIC force. Highly recommended.

Waheed Rabbani is a historical fiction author, whose books are available on Amazon and elsewhere.

This review first appeared in the Historical Novels Review Issue 72 (May 2015)

3 people found this helpful

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Unity

Great historical novel about 1857 War of Independence led by Begum Hazrat Mahal

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2021

After a long time, I read such a detailed and well-constructed novel. I learned a lot about history that was not taught in school. The details and facts are not moved around to suit the story. A must-read novel.

One person found this helpful

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toto rosenblut

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2015

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Monica C Pinheiro

História fascinante, livro longo demais

Reviewed in Brazil on August 10, 2019

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Foi fascinante ler sobre tantos fatos dramáticos e personagens heróicos que lutaram contra a dominação inglesa da Índia no século 19. Este livro me abriu portas para muitas “descobertas” pessoais, especialmente as relacionadas à participação das mulheres na vida social e política aquele país. Há poucas mulheres que tenham influído tanto na luta dos indianos contra os invadores europeus como Hazrat Mahal, a quarta esposa do rei de Awadh, mãe do herdeiro real e líder na Primeira Guerra pela Independência Indiana em 1857. Como publicou um jornal inglês da época, “a Begum de Awadh demonstra mais senso estratégico e coragem do que todos os seus generais reunidos.”
O livro é muito bom, mas se perde um pouco no meio por dar detalhes demais sobre a evolução das operações da guerra. Na minha opinião, poderia ter sido mais curto. A história de amor entre Hazrat Mahal e um dos líderes da revolta indiana adiciona momentos ficcionais interessantes à narrativa, mas me parece pouco crível e contrastante demais com a brutalidade dos acontecimentos militares e políticos. Apesar disso, este foi um livro que me agradou bastante e que recomendo àqueles que se interessam por romances históricos.

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jacqueline waring

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on July 1, 2016

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excellent book and excellent service

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The city of Gold and Silver by Kenize Mourad

Reviewed in Italy on July 8, 2016

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I loved the book...It reads like a novel, but is in fact a lesson in history....and what a page in history !
It also has a very contemporary ring, because it defeats the often misrepresented notion of muslim women being faceless, powerless and subjugated.
The style and language of Kenize Murad is flowing like a river...
I recommend it

AMIT PURI

Marvellous book a fictional novel but based on true historical ...

Reviewed in India on May 18, 2016

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Marvellous book a fictional novel but based on true historical facts. Came to know about Begum Hazrat Mahal her background and her contribution to the first war of independence of India. Hats off to the author who took pains to research souch in details about the protagonist and her times. Very catchy interesting and unputdownable book. Go for it guys.

Java

Everything has been said before but everyone has not heard it yet.

Reviewed in India on March 10, 2015

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The author of In the City of Gold and Silver makes an assessment of her task through her protagonist Begum Hazrat Mahal, who sees the writer as “an alchemist whose whole existence is an attempt to transform darkness into light.” The mixed metaphor, perhaps an unintended consequence of the complex process of translation, does not dilute the emphasis on “darkness into light.” Certainly, Begum Hazrat Mahal has been shortchanged by historians and history; Latika Padgaonkar has justly titled her review of the book “India’s Daughter: Tough, Beautiful and Forgotten,” freed of the constraints of keeping the title brief she could well have added “ignored.” Kenizé Mourad does mankind a great service, and womankind an even greater one, in bringing the heroism of Hazrat Mahal neé Muhammadi to light.
What is the difference between being forgotten and being ignored? For a historic figure, the first is chronological: being forgotten is a verdict handed down by posterity but being ignored must be suffered at the hands of contemporaries as well. Mourad’s work remedies the injustice done to Begum Hazrat Mahal by history; but does not adequately delve into the disregard suffered by this extraordinary woman during her lifetime. Begum Hazrat Mahal was not an official wife of the king, Wazid Ali Shah: two marriages were recognized at the time, a permanent marriage (nikah) and a temporary marriage (mut’ah) and Begum Hazrat Mahal was only a mut’ah wife, one amongst possibly more than three hundred. The only evidence of special notice she received from her husband is the title of “Iftikhar-un-nissa” (dignified among women) which he bestowed upon her at the birth of their son, not in recognition of her poetic prowess as suggested in the novel. Mourad’s erroneous claim that this wife, one among more than three hundred “temporary” ones, was special to the king would have been put right had Mourad gone through Ishqnama, the king’s autobiography in which he deals predominantly with his matrimonial concerns and amorous inclinations - the manuscript lies in Windsor Castle but is regrettably missing from the bibliography. A reference to Ishqnama would have provided for greater insight into the zenana and made for a more accurate appraisal of the protagonist.
The most glaring omission by Mourad is that of the officially proclaimed “dismissal” of the Begum and her son by Wazid Ali Shah, issued shortly after the war of 1857 ended, in order to secure his immediate release from Fort William in Kolkata. This fact is not insignificant enough to be kept in “darkness,” Mourad should have brought it to light. A narrative that examines the Begum’s motivations and compulsions is incomplete without an examination of her reaction to an announcement which effectively made her son illegitimate.
Another avoidable omission is of the fact that when Wazid Ali Shah left Lucknow at the start of the city’s annexation by the British, never to return, he traveled not only with his mother but also with two of his official wives. In the novel, one of the wives is shown as present in Lucknow at the time when the decision of appointing a royal head of the Indian forces is being taken. In Mourad’s version Khas Mahal, the first wife, refuses to offer her son for the struggle, and this is the carpe-diem moment for Begum Hazrat Mahal, which she seizes by proclaiming her son the legitimate heir to the throne of Awadh. There could have been a more complex explanation of the rise of Birjis Qadr to the leadership position, one which would have demonstrated greater political astuteness on the Queen Mother’s part rather than showing her as the beneficiary of mere chance.
Mourad claims “I don’t invent, I recreate” yet the entire love affair between Raja Jai Lal, the commander of the Indian forces and the Queen Mother is pure invention, there is no historical basis for the author’s assumption, she finds justification instead in her own perceived inevitability of a romantic liaison where youth and beauty exist “….these two good-looking young people must have fallen in love.” Mourad also, mistakenly though candidly, adds that without this interpolation the biography of the Begum would have been “too dry.” Dry! To assume that sex trumps over palace intrigues and political shenanigans may suit the design for a historical romance but is a severe handicap in a historical novel which casts a heroine of singular capabilities. An ordinary artisan’s daughter, brought into a harem where beauty and seductiveness are the only requirements for acceptance, who had no reason to develop any other attribute, who wells up the courage to grasp power and by sheer will educates herself in military and political strategy. She guides tens of thousands of soldiers, she argues with experienced generals, she contests religious fundamentalists and she perseveres right to the end where she finances dying bursts of an enervated resistance through the gold sewn in the hems of her dresses. In such a woman Mourad has a character of such colossal magnitude that she did not need a love-prop.
At this point it would be appropriate to recall Derrida, the father of deconstructionism, who is considered by some few a nihilist. Far from adopting a nihilistic stance, Derrida asserted instead that the texts that he wants to read from the deconstructive viewpoint are the texts that he loves; they are texts whose future, according to him, will not be exhausted for a long time. That is also true of Kenizé Mourad’s In the City of Gold and Silver. The novel provides an accessible, unbiased, detail-rich portrayal of the war of 1857 and the life of Begum Hazrat Mahal right up to the tragic end of both stories. The Begum’s movement from the Chhatar Manzil Palace, to the more humble south wing of Kaiserbagh, to Musabaad, to Bhitauli, to Bondi and finally to Butwal in Nepal where she died in oblivion shows the gradual loss of her royal prestige and political power but at the same time the growing strength of her convictions - demonstrated by her refusal to surrender till the end.
The book needs to be read more widely, at least among the custodians of current opinion: it was reviewed by only two leading dailies in the sub-continent - Dawn and Asian Age. The book is an informed account of a formidable woman who despite being ignored by her husband and king, despite being embattled by the might of the British Empire, despite being forgotten by historians, has persevered through the work of Kenizé Mourad.
Notes:
Lucknow’s commercial centre is called Hazratganj.
Begum Hazrat Mahal Park in central Lucknow used to host the Lucknow Mahotsav - a cultural festival.
There is a memorial statue of Raja Jai Lal opposite the DM’s residence in Lucknow.

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