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Catagory: Historical Fiction

Pride & Prejudice (PREMIUM PAPERBACK, PENGUIN INDIA)

SWOONWORTHY ROMANCE MEETS RIVETING SATIRE IN THIS TIMELESS CLASSIC

He is all pride, and she prejudiced. When Mr Darcy arrives at the quiet town of Hertfordshire, everyone is excited. So what if he’s a bit of a snob, or despises all things social? He, like his best friend Mr Bingley, is an ideal bachelor with a magnificent estate.

But there’s one person who absolutely detests him.

Vivacious and witty, Elizabeth Bennet would like nothing to do with the arrogant Mr Darcy-but fate has other plans. When Mr Bingley starts courting her sister Jane, Elizabeth is forced to cross paths with Darcy again and again. As the two of them spend time in each other’s company, Darcy can’t help falling for Elizabeth’s wit and charm, while she’s forced to reconsider her own feelings for him.

But the two of them are still worlds apart-he’s a rich aristocrat while she hails from an economically weaker family. Will they be able to set aside their differences? Or will the two of them risk losing a chance at true love and happiness? A charming comedy of manners, Pride and Prejudice is a stunning battle of the sexes that is equal parts entertaining and astute.

Wuthering Heights (PREMIUM PAPERBACK, PENGUIN INDIA)

A HAUNTING TALE OF DARK LONGINGS AND TRAGIC LOVE

Bitter, brooding, and cynical-Heathcliff resides at ‘Wuthering Heights’, a run-down estate on the bleak Yorkshire moors. But he wasn’t always like this.

Youthful and wild, once upon a time, Heathcliff had been in love with the singularly charming Catherine Earnshaw. They’d grown up together-he, a lowly gypsy foundling adopted by Catherine’s father, and she, a proper lady, born in a family of repute. Their romance was doomed from the start.

And yet, they fell in love-an epic, all-consuming love that threatened to devour them whole.

But Heathcliff wasn’t alone in his affections, for Catherine had caught the eye of another man: Edgar Lipton, a rich and well-bred youth, who, everyone agreed, was a perfect match for her. Trapped by societal expectations, Catherine made a choice that triggered a tempestuous series of events, changing their lives forever.

Astonishingly poetic and heart-achingly tragic, Wuthering Heights is a gothic masterpiece that will immerse you in a world that is both beautiful and nightmarish.

The Great Gatsby (PREMIUM PAPERBACK, PENGUIN INDIA)

Welcome to the roaring twenties, where money, debauchery, and dancing go hand-in-hand. It is the summer of 1922,and the enigmatic millionaire, Jay Gatsby, is in love. He has everything he could ever want, except the one thing that always remains out of reach-the beautiful socialite Daisy Buchanan, a former lover, now married to someone else.

At his Long Island mansion, he throws lavish parties-drowning days and nights into drinks and dancing. But all the money in the world cannot fill the emptiness in his heart.

Alone, untouched by the glitz and glamour of the American rich, he stews in his secret longing. But everything changes when Gatsby befriends Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s new neighbour, who reunites the two lovers. Then begins a tale of obsession, madness, and tragedy that unravels Jay Gatsby’s life forever.

Asoca

The mastermind behind one of the deadliest wars fought.

The proponent of ahimsa.

Who was the man? Who was the king?

Who was Asoca?

“Sealy’s distinct technique and his singular meandering and descriptive narrative form have ensured him […] unequalled standing in [the] world of Indian writing in English” – The Guardian

Asoca-often spelled Ashoka-was hailed as Ashoka the Great, the emperor who ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent and was pivotal in the spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of Asia in the third century BC.
But his life as emperor was not always led by non-violence. History has it that he masterminded one of the biggest and deadliest wars ever fought, and it was the insurmountable grief he experienced at the sight of the people dying and dead on the battleground that made him turn to Buddhism and take a vow of ahimsa.

Who was the man, and who was the king? What were his demons, and what gave him strength? This historical novel, drawn from research and portrayed with energy and complexity, transports the reader to the era of the Mauryan dynasty with atmospheric vividness and insight. Epic in scope and Shakespearean in drama, Asoca: A Sutra leaves the reader breathless with the full-bodied richness of Sealy’s prose, his trademark whimsy and his imaginative modern reconstruction of that enigmatic and brilliant ruler of the Indian subcontinent.

Life and Death of Sambhaji /Son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj/Maratha Warrior

It begins to dawn on the nine-year-old Sambhaji that his father has fled from the clutches of the Mughal badshah Aurangzeb and left him behind. He must now find his way back home with the help of strangers . . .
Under the shadow of an illustrious father, Sambhaji finds himself thrust into the Maratha-Mughal conflict from a tender age. His mistakes cost him dearly and when his father suddenly dies and he becomes the chhatrapati, it is as if he has inherited a crown of thorns.
In the nine years that follow, he faces a constant battle-internally, as palace intrigues simmer to kill him, and externally, as Aurangzeb descends on the Deccan with full military force.
Even Chhatrapati Shivaji had never faced a full-blown Mughal aggression.
Will he be able to protect the Maratha nation and Swaraj that was his father’s dream? Will he prove to be a worthy son to his father-in life as well as in death?
History has been unfair to Sambhaji, but it can’t deny that he inspired a generation of Maratha warriors, who eventually ensured the end of Aurangzeb’s jihad.

Rising Like a Storm

With King Lohar dead and a usurper queen in power, Gul and Cavas face a new tyrannical government that is bent on killing them both. Their roles in King Lohar’s death have not gone unnoticed, and the new queen is out for blood. What she doesn’t know is that Gul and Cavas have a connection that runs deeper than romance, and together, they just might have the strength and magic to end her for good.

Then a grave mistake ends with Cavas taken prisoner by the government. Gul must train an army of warriors alone. With alliances shifting and the thirst for vengeance growing, the fate of Ambar seems ever more uncertain. It will take every ounce of strength, love, and sacrifice for Gul and Cavas to reach their final goal?and build a more just world than they’ve ever known.

A Flight of Pigeons

Set in Shahjahanpur during the revolt of 1857, A Flight of Pigeons is Ruskin Bond’s classic novella about the twists of fate, history and the human heart. When Ruth Labadoor’s father, a clerk in the British magistrate’s office, is killed in an attack by sepoys, her family seeks refuge with their trusted companion, Lala Ramjimal. From here they eventually hope to escape to their relatives in Bareilly. But their plans go awry when Javed Khan, a fiery Pathan opposed to the British, abducts Ruth and her mother and takes them to his haveli. To their surprise, it is not hate that impels him in this time of war, but an almost crippling passion for Ruth. It will be months before the fall of Delhi to British troops brings them freedom-from fear, bafflement and despair, not only their own but also Javed Khan’s. Based on true events, this new classic edition of A Flight of Pigeons is a haunting story, rich in detail and drama, told with simplicity and deep humanity.

The Break of Dawn (A thrilling page-turner set amidst the 1857 rebellion)

“Unconstrained, unlike a historian, the fiction writer Khan Mahboob Tarzi invents a moment in the history of 1857 and imbues it with high romance and action.”-Rita Kothari, translator, writer, and professor of English, Ashoka University

“[The 1857] rebellion has been the subject of scholarly attention and debate, but the events have not drawn too much literary attention in terms of novels, plays, etc. It is thus good to read this novel and to have it in translation.”-Rudrangshu Mukherjee, chancellor and professor of history, Ashoka University

-A thriller and romance set amidst the raging battle to free India of the British in 1857.

-Brings into focus the lesser-known popular literature in Urdu around the 1857 mutiny.

-The translator, Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, was led to the book out of personal interest, as it includes an account of the erstwhile Mahmudabad royal family’s role in the 1857 revolt.

-Introduces readers to Khan Mahboob Tarzi, a prolific author who wrote over a hundred novels on history, politics, science-fiction, romance and erotica.

It is the searing month of June. The rebellion against the British has just begun and Awadh is up in flames. Hindus and Muslims have joined hands to overthrow the foreign rulers and set India free. Some Indian rulers have started to enter into alliances to fight the firangis, while others have thrown in their lot with the foreigners. Amid all this, Riyaz Khan, a young soldier from the army of the Raja of Mahmudabad, saves a group of Britishers from fellow ‘mutineers’ and escorts them to the safety of Lucknow. In this group is Alice, who falls in love with Riyaz and eventually becomes an informer for the rebels.

The Break of Dawn, originally published in Urdu under the title Aghaaz-e-Sahar, is a thrilling page-turner and a reminder of a time when Indians of all classes and creeds came together to fight for the honour and freedom of their homeland.

China Room

Longlisted for Booker Prize 2021, China Room is a literary masterpiece, inspired by real-life events, from award winning author Sunjeev Sahota

‘Sunjeev Sahota’s writing is the stuff of miracles’ – Bryan Washington

‘A gorgeous, gripping read’ – Kamila Shamsie

‘I’m blown away by it. I was gripped from the first page to the last’ – Tessa Hadley

‘Such a thrilling combination of beauty and heartbreak. It’s breathtaking’ – Charlotte Mendelson

‘An intense drama of classic themes – love, family, survival, and betrayal – told with passion and precision in Sahota’s economical, lyrical prose. China Room is a brilliant novel. I won’t forget any of these characters’ – Adam Foulds

A multigenerational novel of love, oppression, trauma and the pursuit of freedom, inspired in part by the author’s own family history, China Room twines together the stories of a woman and a man separated by more than half a century but united by blood.

Mehar, a young bride in the rural Punjab of 1929, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. She and her sisters-in-law, married to three brothers in a single ceremony, spend their days hard at work in the family’s ‘china room’, sequestered from contact with the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that puts more than one life at risk.

Spiralling around Mehar’s story is that of a young man who, in 1999, travels from England to the now-deserted farm, its ‘china room’ locked and barred. In enforced flight from the traumas of his adolescence-his experiences of addiction, racism and estrangement from the culture of his birth-he spends a summer in painful contemplation and recovery, before finally finding the strength to return home.

A Passage to India

Among the greatest novels of the twentieth century, A Passage to India is set in pre-Independence India. A compelling portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, this classic depicts the fate of individuals caught in the great political and cultural conflicts of their age. It begins when Adela and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, and feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced British community. Determined to explore the ‘real India’, they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal.

The introduction by Harish Trivedi provides the required scholarly context for the English literature course.

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