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Beneath a Marble Sky (2004)

by John Shors

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8864823,909 (3.85)44
In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, consumed by grief over the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, ordered the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love. Against scenes of unimaginable wealth and power, there were murderous sibling rivalries and cruel despotism. In Beneath a Marble Sky, Princess Jahanara tells the story of how the Taj Mahal came to be, and describes her own life as an agent in its creation and as a witness to the fateful events surrounding its completion. As a princess and a mother, a sister and a daughter, Jaharana faces impossible choices and discovers the real meaning of her regal birthright.… (more)
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» See also 44 mentions

English (47)  Spanish (1)  All languages (48)
Showing 1-5 of 47 (next | show all)
I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I did like it but I didn't love it. There were some problems for me with character and plot development. I felt some of the characters just existed and were not developed. One bad brother one good brother, but no development of why one was bad or one was good. Bad brother is afraid of snakes we find out late in the book. Why? No one knows. Maybe because he saw a snake when he was young but who knows. People are loyal for seeminly little reason and people betray for just as little of a reason. It was a good read I just wanted to know the characters better and not find fault with some story points.

( )
  MsTera | Oct 10, 2023 |
Brilliant love story. Not just of a woman to her beloved, but also to her father, mother, brothers, friend, people of her family's empire. ( )
  paarth7 | May 6, 2023 |
If I did not have another book to read for my road trip to Boston, I would not have explored past the first page. This book is horribly overwritten. ( )
  eliseGregory | Jan 1, 2023 |

John Shors must have wrote this inviting book with much love. This is a highly fictionalized story of the building the Taj Mahal in 17th century Hindustan told by Princess Jahanara.

I tip my hat to the man because it did feel like a woman wrote the book because it did at times feel like a romance novel .... with a good smattering of bloody and violent scenes to keep it out of the romance section.

It was the men in the story I found a little over-legendary to the point of being flat... like Jahanara's evil brother and uncouth husband. Nizam and especially Ladli were wonderful (the author seemed to have a lot of fun with the snarky Ladli).

At the end of the book, the author offered to personally speak to any book club who read his book. I wondered if anyone took him off on his offer?



( )
  wellington299 | Feb 19, 2022 |
After really enjoying Shors' Temple of a Thousand Faces, the ficionalized, but well researched story of Cambodia's Ankhor Wat, I have wanted to read this book about the Taj Mahal. It did not disappoint. The story is told by the clever Princess Jahanara, eldest daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, describing the treacherous battle for succession in India, her loveless politically-arranged marriage, and her falling in love with the architect of the mausoleum for her deceased mother. Their faithful eunuch servant and her closest female friend are strong characters and great allies. The religious tension between the ruling Muslims and the majority Hindus was well handled, but introduced late, in my opinion. ( )
  skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 47 (next | show all)
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In the early days, when I was still a little girl, my father believed in perfection.
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In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, consumed by grief over the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, ordered the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love. Against scenes of unimaginable wealth and power, there were murderous sibling rivalries and cruel despotism. In Beneath a Marble Sky, Princess Jahanara tells the story of how the Taj Mahal came to be, and describes her own life as an agent in its creation and as a witness to the fateful events surrounding its completion. As a princess and a mother, a sister and a daughter, Jaharana faces impossible choices and discovers the real meaning of her regal birthright.

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McPherson & Company

2 editions of this book were published by McPherson & Company.

Editions: 0929701712, 0929701976

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

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