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 listeners 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.
Download and start listening now!
"Great 15th century Indian historic fiction! Engaging and fast read. Story of the Emperor's decades long love affair who finally becomes his twentieth wife; his only marriage arranged out of deep and passionate love instead of political arrangement. Need to check out the sequel next."
— Kate (4 out of 5 stars)
“[Sundaresan] regales us with a wonderfully plausible story shimmering with saffron and splendor. Sneha Mathan’s rich voice, with its depth and variety of accents, tinged with a hint of British India, sweeps us into this exotic world…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.
— AudioFile“The narration is splendid, and the large number of exotic-to-Western-ears Hindi words, names, and phrases shine in Mathan’s deep, rich, beautiful voice with a British inflection.”
— Kliatt“Sundaresan writes in the great tradition of the Indian epic, an art she carries forward with grace and brilliance…A remarkably readable book.”
— Library Journal“A sweeping, carefully researched tale of desire, sexual mores, and political treachery set against the backdrop of sixteenth and seventeenth century India…describing life in the royal court in convincing detail and employing authentic period terms throughout.”
— Publishers Weekly“Mathan smoothly indicates the sophistication of Mughal Empire royals and the few who are qualified to serve them. Her range deepens resonantly when reading the male characters; she is especially convincing in the role of Prince Salim, who is worshiped by the bold and witty Mehrunnisa. Mathan also does a good job with the many Indian words that comprise the text.”
— Booklist" Beautifully written! Sundesaran weaves the story with such vivid detail. I felt like I was there! Would highly recommend this book. "
— Naila, 2/20/2014" This book was given to me by a friend and recommended. Once I got into the book it read really quickly. It's your typical historical fiction with a heavy romance thread. I have to admit I think the book's title gives the eventual ending away, so there's not much suspense. Still the world of the book, 15th century India, full of harems, emperor's, jewels and fighting is an interesting one, richly and lushly detailed in the book. It's a fun read. "
— Simone, 2/18/2014" This was a really wonderful and easy read. Lots of entanglement, suspense and interesting characters. However, it went on and on. If the author had brought it to a conclusion earlier, I would have rated it much higher. "
— Sheri, 2/13/2014" The characterization was lacking, so I stopped reading this. "
— April, 2/3/2014" Fascinating historical fiction about early India. "
— Jan, 2/1/2014" Fascinating glimpse into harem life in ancient India. "
— Lynda, 1/27/2014" Really enjoyed this book. Love this author's style of writing! "
— Maryam, 1/23/2014" This book is really great but the second one is even better. "
— Whitney, 1/20/2014" Loved this book. Good way to learn some history and read a great novel at the same time. "
— Anjali, 1/20/2014Indu Sundaresan was born in India to a long line of storytellers. After an undergraduate degree in economics, she came to the United States for graduate school at the University of Delaware, where her passion for writing soon took over. Her first novel, The Twentieth Wife, was awarded the 2003 Washington State Book Award.
Sneha Mathan is a voice actor and audiobook narrator. Her audiobook work has received several Earphones awards, and she is a three-time Audie Award finalist. She lives in Seattle.