About the Book- The Royal Scandal Rrashima Swaarup Verma
1798. Hyderabad, India.
Lieutenant Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick is the recently appointed British Resident. When he first meets Khair-un-Nissa, a beautiful Indian noblewoman, love inevitably blossoms.
It soon becomes clear to James and Khair that the road they have chosen is strewn with painful conflicts around his religion, her honour, their identities, and even their survival. With time, they are shunned by two severe societies, used and discarded as mere pawns in the ruthless battles of pride and honour, and ultimately exploited as a means to settle personal scores of those in power.
How much will they have to stake for the sake of love?
How far will they be compelled to go?
What is the price they pay for love?
Set amidst majestic palaces, regal forts, fragrant gardens and a paradigm shift in power among the highest thrones of command, The Royal Scandal is a love story that dared to defy, and forever changed the power dynamics in British India.
The book highlights the spirit of a young nineteen-year-old Indian noblewoman who broke through the barriers of religion for her love, and the resolve of a much older British officer who put at stake his entire career to let his love blossom. In this bittersweet story, you will get a glimpse of the politics that changed the way India grew in the era, as also the personal vendettas of people in power.
“…a marvellous work on how politics impacts the love story of a British Resident and a Hyderabadi noblewoman… meticulously-researched narrative with a simple style.”
– Dr. Aruna Pariti.
Head – Department of History, Osmania University, Hyderabad.
“This is history writing with its moistness retained. Thoroughly researched and extremely readable.”
– Dr. Shankar Kumar.
Department of History, Hindu College, Delhi University.
Just because we are women does not mean that we are destined to relinquish all the
Read on for our review of the book, The Royal Scandal
decisions of our lives to the men who supposedly rule us.
Our Review of The Royal Scandal
The premise of the book was what drew me to the book. A scandalous romance between a British officer and an Indian noble Muslim woman! So naturally, I was curious to know what exactly was the fate and scandalous about the romance that got them into the history books. Being a sleeping student in my school days, I am not ashamed to admit that before this book, I wasn’t aware of such a history in India’s past. Neither had I heard about James Achilles Kirkpatrick or Khair un nissa before this book. So adding all these factors, I was more than excited to read the book. Now that I have read the book, I would say that I was both happy and also a bit disappointed at the book. So that is a weird feeling to have for a book…right?
So for me, the book goes in two parts. The first part is the obvious historical timelines and events. The second part is our main theme- the love story between James and Khair. So the history part is what made me so happy with the book. As mentioned earlier, I had no clue about these particular phases of history and hence the book was a nice source of knowledge and key in educating about what was happening back then in India and what the India of James and Khair’s love story looked like. The way things were clubbed together to form a basic picture and illuminated the historical timelines was nicely done, making the process of easing into the narration hassle-free.
While the history portion of the book did find a fan in me, it’s the love story that made me a bit disappointed and unsatisfied with the book. From the very first page and paragraph, these two historical figures of James and Khair seemed to be treated in a more cinematic and in my opinion a bit childish angle that I couldn’t fully immerse into those portions of the book. The fact that the rest of the parts, the historical parts were so eloquently and refine in their narration, in contrast, the portions of James and Khair seemed a bit raw and dramatic. It sort of overshadowed the magnanimous setting of this scandalous love story.
The helpless nitpicker that I am, there is also the fact there was a bit of rush in narration and in certain areas, things sprint too fast. So for me, the core plot of the love story between James and Khair was the deal breaker but to my astonishment, it is the history lessons and timelines that turned out to be more fun and exciting and it just shows how much the author had researched and delved into the history pages to bring out these gems in form of a story.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that if you are a history buff, you would love this book with the added spice of a forbidden and scandalous love story between a British officer and an Indian noblewoman. Although for me, the romance angle was too overcooked, I would still say that the book was such a quick and enlightening read on such a powerful story of two lovers who stood the test of time. The book piqued my curiosity so much that I ended up watching a whole bunch of YouTube videos and wikipedying the hell out of these historical lovers. That in turn also gave me a new appreciation for the author and her research and in-depth knowledge about what all transpired as the book had amassed all that fantastically
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