The Feast of Roses

Indu Sundaresan’s novels are composed with such skill and such exquisite detail that you can’t help but be immersed in the rich world of the Mughals. She weaves a tapestry of love that cannot be denied, that refuses to be denied. A world of immense power and velvet lined cruelty. Her work is carefully researched and so flawless is her attention to history and detail that whatever embellishments she may have made, whatever creative license she may have taken with the actual events remain unnoticed. The prose has a rhythm and her characters rise up beyond their inky existences until they are living and breathing inside your mind. You are lost in the grandeur of the palace and embraced within the fold of the family. And when the show more Emperor and his Empress face danger and hostility, your heart shivers in response. Everyone should read what was perhaps one of the greatest love stories that ever happened. show less

This second novel in the Taj trilogy tells the story of Empress Nur Jahan - Mehrunnisa in her humbler past - after her wedding to Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Based on available historical documents, and also on stories and myths passed on from the Mughal era mixed with the author's imagination, this one is a fine blend of history and fiction. The author has beautifully captured Jahangir's almost fatal surrender to the love - and whatever else - of the shrewd Mehrunnisa, to the exclusion of everyone else in his world, that shaped the empire's destiny.
On the downside, this novel is long-drawn at many places, which makes it an effort to keep reading it. Also, the episode of the Portugese has been left hazy, which is disappointing.
Overall, The show more Feast of Roses is a nice build up on the fascinating story of Mehrunnisa - The Twentieth Wife. show less

I loved the first book so very much I was really excited to read this one. Sadly it left me disappointed. In the end I didn't feel a lot of emotion for any of the characters that I had come to love in the first book. Perhaps the author was trying to put too much into this book but it felt rushed at times and the characters didn't come to life for me like they did in her first book. Still she is a gifted author and I would pick another of her books based on what I have read to this point.

Her nerve! But holy shit, is the power worth all the deadly drama? Not necessarily specific to Mehrunnisa, nor to the Mughal Empire...

Such a rich story of India in the 16th century . A novel filled with details on the life and lavish lifestyle of Emperor Jahangir and his beloved wife Mehrunnisa. It is also their love story and a story of power behind the throne.

I enjoyed this book, but thought The Twentieth Wife was much better. Mehrunnisa became a bit of an unappealing character through the course of the book, and it seemed to drag in places.

The continuation of The Twentieth Wife; in this story Mehrunnisa is married to the emperor of the Mughal Empire and tries to gain as much power as she can. Not quite as good as the first book. Mehrunnisa ruthlessness makes the reader dislike her at times.