With the Victoria Day weekend approaching here in Canada again, I thought this would be the perfect book to share. At least in Canada, we often hear/see reminders of how great the British Empire was. However, I think we can all recognise that it actually wasn’t all that great. In order to expand the Empire, entire populations and nations had to be assimilated or decimated, and that perspective is rarely shared. (I think that is slowly changing, but slowly.) Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran tells the story of an Indian kingdom, the women who led it, and the invading British- a must-read!
Rebel Queen, Michelle Moran
When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.
Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies – one male and one female – and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although her soldiers may not appear at first to be formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from the empire that is determined to take away the land she loves.
Told from the unexpected perspective of Sita – Queen Lakshmi’s most favored companion and most trusted soldier in the all-female army – Rebel Queen shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction. In the tradition of her best-selling novel, Nefertiti ,and through her strong, independent heroines fighting to make their ways in a male-dominated world, Michelle Moran brings nineteenth-century India to rich, vibrant life.
Why You Should Read This…
I really enjoy Michelle Moran’s novels- I am always engrossed in them and can’t put them down. (I recommended another in my Best Historical Fiction Books About Women post!) I had read Lakshmi’s name, and the very common Joan of Arc comparison, but knew nothing else. And I have to say, this story blew me away. Some people don’t love Moran’s treatment of historical figures, where she shows them through the view of another character. I think it works rather well; you don’t get lost in the day to day minutia but rather feel the emotion and crucial moments. If you are looking for royal fiction that you can’t put down, you need to read Rebel Queen!
Have you read Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran?
Cheers,
The Historian
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