Here is the long-forgotten story of Begum Hazrat Mahal, queen of Awadh and the soul of the Indian revolt against the British, brought to vivid life by a writer whose own story reads like a novel. Begum was an orphan and a poetess who captured the attentions of King Waiid Ali Shah of Awadh and became his fourth wife. As his wife, she incited and led a popular uprising that would eventually prove to be the first step toward Indian independence. Begum was the very incarnation of resistance: as chief of the army and the government in Lucknow, she fought battles on the field for two years; she was a freedom fighter, a misunderstood mother, and an illicit lover. A remarkable woman who risked everything only to face the greatest betrayal of all. Begum is a fitting subject for Kenizé Mourad, whose mother was a Turkish princess and father an Indian Raj.
