The Twentieth Wife

Sundaresan weaves a vivid and brutal tapestry of noble life during the Mughal Empire (northern India through Pakistan and a chunk of Afghanistan circa 1600). Building upon available accounts from the time period, we learn of Mehrunnisa who eventually becomes Emperor Jahangir's twentieth and final wife at an unconventional 34 years old. Not realizing this was part of a series (why I'm currently in the middle of so many, waaaaaaah) and being ignorant of this history, I'm eager to obtain the next installment where she becomes Empress Nur Jahan (Light of the World) and rules one of India's largest and most powerful dynasties from behind a veil. Can't get the harem's assault of color and brilliance tinged with decay scrubbed from behind my show more eyelids - has someone written a story about a forgotten concubine (neither smut nor a tale of rising from that station)? show less

Mehrunnisa is born when her family’s fortunes are at their lowest. They’ve fled Persia and barely have enough money to make the trip to India. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A kind stranger helps them on their way and their fortunes improve.

Mehrunnisa comes to the attention of the emperor’s favorite wife as a child. Beautiful, intelligent, and witty, her charms only increase as she grows into womanhood, so that even the heir to the throne of the Mughul Empire notices her.

I’ve struggled a little lately with a bit of a reading slump. I can usually break out of those by reading a few quick fantasies. This book should not have worked for me right now but it absolutely did.

I know very little Indian history so show more I didn’t know anything about this emperor, his wives, or even this period in time (early 1600s). It was tumultuous, to say the least. Sons plot against their fathers to take thrones, Portuguese Jesuits are looking for Catholic converts and exclusive trading rights, English traders are trying to establish their own trade routes, and nearby kingdoms are testing the emperor as a matter of course. And that doesn’t even include the intrigue in the zenana (What I would think of as the harem, correctly or not). My ignorance meant that I was never sure what was going to happen next so I kept listening in every spare moment, eager to see what happened next.

In many ways, fortune smiles on Mehrunnisa but I could also argue that she’s cursed. Either way, her life is never dull. The author presents her as a woman who wants to determine her own fate and who’s largely driven by love and desire. But she’s clever and calculating too. I occasionally wondered which side was governing her behavior. She was realistically complex.

The rich details, foreign setting, and unfamiliar culture of this book made me feel lost in a different place and time. I could practically smell the exotic food, hear the tinkling bangles, and feel the sweltering heat as I listened. Those same details may bog the pace down for some readers though.

Sneha Mathan’s beautiful voice and soft, musical accent made her narration outstanding. I just added every available work she’s read to my library to-read list.

Readers who want to be transported to a different time and place and who don’t mind a slow pace will enjoy this one. I especially recommend the audiobook. I’ll be listening to the rest of the series soon.

My apologies for any misspellings in this review. The wonderful thing about listening to an audiobook with unfamiliar names and words is that I know how they’re pronounced; on the flip side, I don’t know how to spell them. show less

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love books that transport me back in time. Add in an exotic foreign land and I'm hooked. The Twentieth Wife (The Taj Mahal Trilogy, Book One) enchanted me from the first page. This book is an interesting education about the power of love.

Women still have a long way to go yet to achieving full equality with men. However, it would be too easy to look at The Twentieth Wife as only an example of our historic inequality. I hope perceptive readers will see that there is so much more in this history of how one woman loved one man.

For example, it also shows us that there is more than one way to achieve power. Even in the 16th century a few women played a critical role in show more foreign-policy, world economics, and how to run a country. They should be remembered as our heroes. For it is with their history that we learned that women have always been strong enough to achieve their goals. Certainly, history will remember Mehrunnisa for her beauty. However, Indu Sundaresan has shown us that this classically graceful woman was strong in her values, her love for one man, and her ambitions.

I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy as Sundaresan is an amazing storyteller. She brings historical figures alive as well as their culture. While my circumstances prevent me from traveling to India, Sundaresan successfully transported me there and gave me a look into the country's history unlike any other tour guide could.

The other Taj Mahal Trilogy books are:
- The Feast of Roses, Book Two
- Shadow Princess, Book Three



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I first read this book when it came out in 2003. The copy in the library was nice and fresh and just waiting to be cracked open. I fell in love from the first page. Over the years, I still had beautiful images from the book playing in my head. When asked to recommend a book this was usually my top pick. It is now 7 years later and thanks in part to a historical fiction challenge I decided to re-read this book. The same copy from 2003 has now passed many hands. I can tell the book has been loved by the many stamps on the due list and stains. I felt nostalgic while re-reading this book and reliving my first experience. The second reading was just as good as the first. The book pretty much as it all- Indian culture, beautiful descriptions, show more court politics, romance, etc. Oh and who can beat a harem full of beautiful, strong women? show less

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

It is a Historical Fiction novel about Emperor Jehangir and his 'twentieth wife' Mehrunissa / Nur Jahan... the only woman he apparently married for love. I was really excited to read it but now that I have finished it, I have mixed feelings... mainly because Mehrunissa becomes the Twentieth Wife at the last page and for the first 80 percent of the book, Jehangir and Mehrunissa haven't had a decent conversation! In fact, they 'meet' only thrice before Mehrunissa gets married to someone else and moves away and for the next 15 years or so, the protagonists do not meet... that is why this 'legendary love story' doesn't make sense to me! It is mentioned over and over again that Mehrunissa is not like other women and that is why Jehangir is show more so much (and for so long) in love with her but her intelligence is hardly witnessed by the emperor. Thus, the 'affection' that Jehangir (Salim) has for her even after not seeing her for decades is inexplicable... or maybe that is what true love is and I am just a cynic! Anyway, the novel, for the most part, details the story of Mehrunissa's 'Second Husband' and his rise to power rather than Jehangir's 'Twentieth Wife'... to read about her, you should read the sequel which I have no plans of doing at the moment. Now, to the good points - the description of Mughal India, the riches and the opulence, the court life of the times, the political machinations, the power struggles, the social norms, the status of women, etc is described gorgeously and since I love history and reading about the eras gone by (yes, I do!), I somewhat enjoyed it (and managed to finish the book)! So, thumbs up for capturing the essence of the era and thumbs down for the love story. show less

I was drawn to this book after watching the Hindi TV series named Siyasat - the best one I've ever watched - based on it. This is the story of Mehrunnisa who went on to become the Empress of the seventeenth century Mughal India after being almost abandoned by her parents soon after her birth due to poverty. This tale is a blend of recorded history and fiction - an epic love story that spans decades and the vast mughal empire. The author has done a great job of building powerful yet human characters and bringing the politics and intrigue of the era - both inside and outside of the harem - to life, making it an absorbing read.
However, the novel felt a bit too stretched out, with many repetitive descriptions, unlike the crisp adaptation on show more the TV. show less