Sikkim

Sikkim Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom tells the remarkable story of Thondup the handsome last king of Sikkim and his young and beautiful American queen Hope Cooke as they seek support for Sikkim’s independence after their wedding in 1963. Soon rumours circulate that Hope was a CIA spy. Meanwhile a shadowy Scottish adventuress the Kazini of Chakung married to Sikkim’s leading political figure coordinates opposition to the Palace. As the geopolitical tectonic plates of the Himalayas grind together Sikkim doesn’t stand a chance. Thondup dies a broken man in 1982 Hope returns to New York Sikkim begins a new phase as India’s twenty-second state. Based on exclusive interviews and new archival research this is a thrilling romantic and informative glimpse of life in a lost paradise. About the Author Andrew Duff is a freelance journalist based in London and Scotland who writes on India and related subjects. In the UK his work has appeared in 'The Times the Financial Times and the Sunday Telegraph and in India in the Times of India and the India Quarterly'. He travels frequently in India and East Asia.