The Last Queen of India

This is another novel that has two titles (see earlier post here). The Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran was renamed The Last Queen of India when published in the UK and Australia, possibly because there is another “rebel queen of India” who was the subject of this recent film and the UK publishers wished to avoid any confusion.

The UK title is still a problem for anyone who is a fusspot history buff. Technically, the last Queen of India was the wife of the last King-Emperor George VI, ie the late Queen Mother. In the 1850s, which is when this novel is set, India wasn’t the entity we know today but a collection of princely states. India only came into its own right as an independent nation in 1947. And if you are even more pedantic about the 19th Century situation, there were subtle dynastic differences of status in those states with rulers who were often called Princes by the British, and many Princes had more than one wife … just let’s say with a more judicious choice of title this whole argument could have been avoided!

The rather florid taglines of “Queen” - Sovereign of the East, Defender of an Empire - may match the alluringly romantic cover, but the American “Rebel” cover with its sword is slightly better suited to Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the woman famous for her fight against the British during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, which is now called either the Sepoy Rebellion or First War of Independence.

Whenever I approach an historical novel such as this, I always do my best to push aside any preconceptions or prior knowledge and judge it on its merits solely as a story and not a retelling of history. I am firmly of the belief that any good historical novel will always inspire readers to search for the truth.

The story is told from the point of view of Sita who lives in a small village and seems destined for a life hidden from the world in purdah, being forced into an arranged marriage when still a child. But Sita has an enlightened father. She has been well-educated, can speak English, is an accomplished archer and so is a prime candidate for the elite female guard known as the Durga Dal who protect the Rani of Jhansi. As she enters the court, Sita has to learn how to negotiate the politics and various intrigues and how to use her skills to advantage in serving the Rani.

The finer detail and descriptions of life in the village and at court are  excellent, the dialogue and pace are also good. Sita is, for the most part, an appealing narrator who weaves her tale smoothly between her relationships with her family, her lover, and the court. Unfortunately, as a result, this novel turns out not to be about Rani Lakshimbai herself, she is only the backdrop to Sita’s own journey. The Rani remains a shadowy and vacillating figure who fails to display any solid warrior queen qualities until towards the end when it is already too late. Sita’s character also falters when she is up against the traitor in their midst and her fighting prowess never quite fulfilled.

I was prepared to ignore much of this and rate the novel highly for its pace and informative readability, until the closing chapters regarding the fate of Sita’s sister. In the notes at the end of the book, the author does admit to including a certain event that didn’t actually happen until nearly thirty years after the Indian Mutiny! So why do it then?

Frankly, there was no need for this at all as it had little bearing on the outcome after everything else nasty that had happened. Anyone who is familiar with the Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Rebellion knows that terrible atrocities were committed on all sides, but this extra dollop smacks of a snide Americanized "Hollywood version of the truth" in order to make the British look even worse than they were. Disappointing.

(Thanks to Hachette Australia for sending me a copy for review.)

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