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Twentieth Wife
Twentieth Wife | Indu Sundaresan
An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India's most controversial empresses -- a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, "The Twentieth Wife" sweeps readers up in Mehrunnisa's embattled love with Prince Salim, and in the bedazzling destiny of a woman -- a legend in her own time -- who was all but lost to history until now.
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ChaoticMissAdventures
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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#AAPI Heritage month recommendations
Historical fiction edition

Many of these you see here often - Pachinko, Kaikeyi, Island of Missing Trees. It isn't often I see people referring to The Tenth Muse - a wonderfully written book about a woman who is a math prodigy in a man's world. Or the series by Indu Sundaresan beautiful, rich sensory filled books about ancient India.
Historical fiction is my jam and there are so many fantastic books!

jlhammar The Tenth Muse is so good! Definitely deserves more love. 11mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @jlhammar so good!! I was so blown away by the ARC I bought the hardcover when it came out, I don't see people talk about it at all! 11mo
33 likes2 comments
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Texreader
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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I found this Instagrammer who posts about Indian books. I‘m going to keep track of it for #foodandlit when it‘s our month to read and eat #India. But if anyone‘s interested now, here‘s the link:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZLfZMPJ4-p/?utm_medium=copy_link

Catsandbooks Awesome! 2y
48 likes1 comment
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Blackink_WhitePaper
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Eggs Enticing photo and cover👏🏻👏🏻 3y
33 likes1 comment
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janeycanuck
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Mehso-so

A touch too long and sometimes hard to follow the timeline - but I think I might continue with the series.

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janeycanuck
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Penny showed more life than she has in months tonight so we went for an extra long, extra early walk. And now she‘s passed right out, snuggled up on my lap, snoring away. It‘s a good soundtrack for reading. #dogsoflitsy #petsoflitsy

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Blackink_WhitePaper
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Pickpick

Done with the last book of 2019! I was very excited to read about #Mughal rule India. I enjoyed the story line but not the political drama involved. The main character Mehrunissa is very strong and author is successful in portraying her feelings and struggle. But the description of the plots were not satisfactory, either too much or too little details. Overall it‘s a good book for #historicalfiction lovers. 3⭐️ #lastread #Indian #triology

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Blackink_WhitePaper
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Very excited to read this book. Another #historicalfiction in this month. Let‘s see!

10 likes1 stack add
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Chrissyreadit
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Some considerations for historical fiction. #lmpbc

See All 15 Comments
Chrissyreadit This one may be longer but was highly recommended by Rosina Lippi/Sara Donati. So offering as possibility... 5y
Laughterhp These all sound good. I‘ve read These Shallow Graves. My top choices would be Wet Nurse‘s Tale, Ali and Nino or My Name is Mary Sutter. But I‘d be open to any except the one I‘ve read! 5y
megnews I‘ve read Wench. I have My Name is Mary Sutter on my tbr. These Shallow Graves and The Moonflower Vine sound interesting. Open to any but the one I‘ve read as well. 5y
Butterfinger The only one I've read is The 20th Wife. I'm fine with longer than 400 pages. 5y
Chrissyreadit @Laughterhp @megnews @Butterfinger If I narrow it to Wet Nurse, Mary Sutter, Ali, and Moonflower is there a preference? I have not read Moloka‘i but I though someone in this group had. 5y
Laughterhp My top choice would be Wet Nurse, but I‘d be okay reading any. 5y
Butterfinger I'm good with Wet Nurse. I hadn't seen laughterhp's post when I asked about Moloka'i. 5y
megnews My top choice would be Mary Sutter. I am good with Wet Nurse as well. 5y
58 likes15 comments
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Naj
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
Pickpick

Set in 16th century India, this is the story of how Mehrunissa became Nur Jahan, the most powerful queen of the Mughal empire. The biggest draw for me was Mehrunissa- intelligent, independent, determined.The writing was too flowery at times and I wanted more details regarding certain plot points. The side characters needed more depth as well. Despite the not so great writing style, the story was interesting enough to keep me going.
3/5 stars

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suchitaaswaminathan
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
Mehso-so

The characters lacked depth, the plots described could have been more consistent, and to top it all,too many unnecessary adjectives for a scene.

The only good thing about the book was the growth of Mehrunnisa from an innocent kid who desired to marry the Prince, a young adolescent feeling passionate about him, a married woman who remained faithful to her soldier husband, and finally to a new bride who was strong, yet subtle in her decisions.

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Praqriti
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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The longings of a little girl behind the purdah who dreams to be the empress, Indu is weaving a beautiful tale so far!

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Jas16
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Mehrunnisa may be Prince Salim's 20th wife but she is a #princessofpower. It appears that this is a trilogy and I only read the first book. #characters2017

LibrarianRyan 👍🤓 7y
53 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Apeksha
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Pickpick

Beautifully written historical fiction(Tajmahal trilogy#1) about the mughal empire.This story is about Emperor Jahangir and his twentieth wife NurJahan.The description of the mughal life,court activities,festivities,women in the harem,mughal architecture,the royalty, hunger for power and the age old romance is so good it immediately transports you to the magical 15th century. Cant wait to read the other books in the trilogy!!A must read guys !

4 likes1 stack add
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Kbartel21
THE TWENTIETH WIFE | Indu Sundaresan
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Pickpick

This was the first of 3 historical fiction books that lead up to the man who had the Taj Mahal built for his wife. I really enjoyed this first one and found it very interesting, I can't wait to read the rest of the series! #bookstagram #goodreadswithaview

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skrishna
Twentieth Wife | Indu Sundaresan
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Pickpick

I'm visiting my parents and found this old favorite at their house. If you enjoy historical fiction and haven't read this novel about Empress Nur Jahan, you are definitely missing out. It's lush and absolutely fascinating.

Sharanya My mom LOVES this book 8y
darthmoll So distracted by that gorgeous tile! 8y
skrishna @darthmoll my parents' entire house is a work of art. It's incredible. 8y
84 likes49 stack adds3 comments
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AnishaB
Twentieth Wife | Indu Sundaresan
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There aren't many fictional novels set in the Mughal Era of India - not nearly enough for me. One such lovely book is The Twentieth Wife. A love story, a political saga and a historical, this gorgeous book, as one critic says, 'satisfies every craving for the finery and charm of India's past'.

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