White Mughals is the romantic and ultimately tragic tale of a
passionate love affair that crossed and transcended all the
cultural, religious and political boundaries of its time.
James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court
of the Nizam of Hyderabad when in 1798 he glimpsed Kahir
un-Nissa--'Most excellent among Women'--the great-niece of the
Nizam's Prime Minister and a descendant of the Prophet. Kirkpatrick
had gone out to India as an ambitious soldier in the army of the
East India Company, eager to make his name in the conquest and
subjection of the subcontinent. Instead, he fell in love with Khair
and overcame many obstacles to marry her--not least of which was
the fact that she was locked away in purdah and engaged to a local
nobleman. Eventually, while remaining Resident, Kirkpatrick
converted to Islam, and according to Indian sources even became a
double-agent working for the Hyderabadis against the East India
Company.
It is a remarkable story, involving secret assignations, court
intrigue, harem politics, religious and family disputes. But such
things were not unknown; from the early sixteenth century, when the
Inquisition banned the Portuguese in Goa from wearing the dhoti, to
the eve of the Indian mutiny, the 'white Mughals' who wore local
dress and adopted Indian ways were a source of embarrassments to
successive colonial administrations. William Dalrymple unearths
such colourful figures as 'Hindoo Stuart', who travelled with his
own team of Brahmins to maintain his temple of idols, and who spent
many years trying to persuade the memsahibs of Calcutta to adopt
the sari; and Sir David Ochterlony, Kirkpatrick's counterpart in
Delhi, who took all thirteen of his wives out for evening
promenades, each on the back of their own elephant.
In White Mughals, William Dalrymple discovers a world almost
entirely unexplored by history, and places at its centre a
compelling tale of love, seduction and betrayal. It possesses all
the sweep and resonance of a great nineteenth-century novel, set
against a background of shifting alliances and the manoeuvring of
the great powers, the mercantile ambitions of the British and the
imperial dreams of Napoleon. White Mughals, the product of five
years' writing and research, triumphantly confirms Dalrymple's
reputation as one of the finest writers at work today.
General
Imprint: |
Penguin USA
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2004 |
First published: |
April 2004 |
Authors: |
William Dalrymple
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 148 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
459 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-14-200412-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Historical fiction
|
LSN: |
0-14-200412-X |
Barcode: |
9780142004128 |
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