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Finalist for the 2020 International Book Award for Multicultural Fiction.
In 1858, the British took over the city of Lucknow, paving the way for Queen Victoria's reign over India. But what happened to Begam Hazrat Mahal, the woman of African-Indian descent who had valiantly organized a final key resistance to British rule, and to her ex-husband, Wajid 'Ali Shah, the last King in India, who remained imprisoned by the British?
The Envy of Paradise tells their stories.
Jocelyn Cullity's English family lived in India for five generations. A sequel to the award-winning
Amah & the Silk-Winged Pigeons, her second novel about the takeover of India by Britain is an exquisitely told tale of 19th-century India -- a deep rendering of the moment that India as a country was colonized; a brilliant illustration of Hazrat Mahal's fearless character and the depths of betrayal the last King in India faced.
About the author
Jocelyn Cullity teaches Creative Writing in the BFA Program in Creative Writing at Truman State University in Missouri. Her English family lived in India for five generations. Cullity's first novel, published by Inanna, won the 15th annual Best Book Awards in Historical Fiction. and was included in the 2017 International "Recommended List of 20 Books" by The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction honoring books in the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries. Her stories and essays have been published in Canada, the United States, and India. She was born in Australia, grew up north of Toronto, Canada, and has lived for periods of time in both India and England.
