The Teenage Diary of Jahanara

A lyrical and gripping read that captures the drama and intrigues in the Mughal empire at the height of its glory. It is 1626 and Jahanara is in Mandu central India. Her father Prince Khurramwho will later become Emperor Shah Jahanhas fallen out of favour with Emperor Jahangir and now lives in the Deccan with his wife Arjamand Bano and their five children. As events unfold around her Jahanara records them in her diaryher fathers reaction to his exile; Empress Nur Jahans demand that Jahanaras brothers be sent to her court as hostages; the conspiracies in faraway Agra and Lahore as Jahangir slides into ill-health; and her own growth as a sensitive writer and poet. Then one day her father rides away to capture the Mughal throne paving the way for Jahanara to return to her beloved Agra. This fictional diary recreates the drama of ambition intrigue and loyalty that marked the Mughal empire at the height of its glory. As young Jahanara witnesses her fathers rise to the throne she also contemplates the incredible cruelty that men inflict on each other and the love and tenderness that will finally redeem all. Gripping and lyrical The Teenage Diary of Jahanara brings to life a time we only read about in history books.