When we read history, we can understand what happened, and when we read historical novels, we can see history before our eyes. The Last Queen is such a fantastic retelling. In this article, we bring the book review of The Last Queen.
About the Book
Title: The Last Queen
Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Genre: Historical Fiction, Feminism, Romance, Indian Literature
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 372 pages
Goodreads rating: 4/5
The story of Rani Jindan Kaur, the mother of Khalsa, is the protagonist of this book. She is the fierce queen whom history has forgotten. As the regent of her son, she defied the tradition of stepping out of the zenana and conducting royal business in public. The sharp-eyed and passionate queen led the Khalsa forces into war and did not give up even after being deprived of her only child. The Last Queen is a story of loyalty, betrayal, and one woman’s indomitable will to protect herself, her child, and her kingdom.
The Last Queen: Spoiler Free Book Review
The book is divided into four sections – girl, bride, queen, and rebel, describing the different stages in the queen’s life.
Each phase is crucial for the development of the plot and the introduction of the different characters.
Each phase has subheadings that denote important moments in the Queen’s life. This piques the reader’s interest and makes them want to know more.
These events explicitly shape the nature of the queen who rises and becomes the last queen of Raja Ranjit Singh.
The author tells the story from the queen’s point of view. As a result, readers can immediately identify with the character and the plot. Through her, we experience many emotions like puberty, first love, individuality, etc. Her perspective sheds light on all the unanswered questions about that time.
“I may be injured; I may even be wounded to the heart; but I’m not defeated yet.”
The Last Queen, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,
The book is meticulously researched, and although there are some creative liberties, it can be said that The Last Queen is as truthful as it gets. For example, her hotheaded decisions lead to the end of an empire. She is both imperfect and unbeatable in equal measure. However, this makes her almost unsympathetic in places and sympathetic in others.
History has shown that polygamous marriages can never lead to friendships between women. However this title, we find many imagined companionships between the king’s wives. This reflects the ideal situation the author wished had existed at the time.
“People revered his father as the Lion of Punjab, but his mother is the one they should have called Lioness.”
The Last Queen, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,
The cover is aesthetically pleasing, with an elegant, portrait-like Queen Jindan looking directly at the reader. Author Chitra has a unique writing style found in all her books. The narrative is lyrical and flowing, which enhances the overall reading experience.
This is a straightforward narrative about a woman. Yet behind it is a person who longs, believes, achieves, stumbles, and loses but never lets life dictate her. Her life is a testament to the fact that being a feminist is a way of life, and Jindan can be any woman, no matter the time or place.
Conclusion
Rating: 4 / 5
Recommendation: This book is a great read, and I highly recommend it. This book is exceptional and a must-read for those who have a knack for historical retellings. Especially those who want to learn more about the last queen of the Khalsa should read this book.
Buy The last queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Now:
About the Author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Programme. Divakaruni’s novel The Palace of Illusions was a national bestseller in India for over a year and is a retelling of the Indian epic The Mahabharata from Draupadi’s point of view.
Link to The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni:
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