Shadow Princess (50 page)

Shadow Princess
ends nine years into Aurangzeb’s reign and fifteen years before Jahanara dies. She settles, finally, into her once-loathed brother’s harem and again supersedes her sister Roshanara by acquiring the title Padshah Begam—the chief lady of the
zenana.
Surely the rivalry that drove their lives would have reared its head once more, even though they were older and perhaps wiser. Official sources, and those unofficial, don’t mention why Jahanara loved Dara so passionately or why she supported him, or why indeed she disliked Aurangzeb so much.

But even though the sources don’t give reasons for the adoration Aurangzeb, in his turn, had for the sister who refused to espouse his ambitions, in giving her a home and the premier position in his harem, he amply demonstrated that devotion.

Indu Sundaresan

March 2009

T
hanks go: first, to the early readers of
Shadow Princess
, my friends Janet Lee Carey and Phillip Winberry, for being willing to plow through an unrevised manuscript and comment upon it.

To my agent Sandy Dijkstra and everyone at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, for everything—how hard they work, how carefully they read my work, how well they champion it, and how nice they all are; this last is a true and unexpected blessing.

To other nice people: my publisher, Judith Curr, and my editor, Malaika Adero, for their support, encouragement, and counsel on my work.

To the very first reader of any manuscript-in-progress, my husband, Uday. And to Uday and Sitara for making me happy enough to write.

And finally, to the two library systems near home—the King County Library System, and the University of Washington’s Suzzallo and Allen libraries—for their superb (and expanding) collection of work on India, which has provided me with invaluable research material for
Shadow Princess
.

INDU SUNDARESAN

A Readers Club Guide

1. In what ways does Mumtaz Mahal’s death change the dynamics of the royal household and, ultimately, the future of the Empire? How does her passing affect Jahanara in particular?

2. Before her death, Mumtaz Mahal noted that “
there was already a slender rivalry
” between her two eldest daughters, “
so inconsequential now as almost not to exist
.” How does this “slender rivalry” develop into a full-blown contentious relationship between the sisters? How much of their dislike for one another has to do with personality and how much with the environment in which they live?

3. Why does the Emperor forbid Jahanara, and also Roshanara, for whom he has little affection, from marrying? Why does Jahanara never ask her father for permission to marry Najabat Khan?

4. Roshanara is often spiteful toward Jahanara, starting rumors of incest between her sister and the Emperor and setting her sights on Najabat Khan. What does she hope to gain by doing these things? Is her behavior at all understandable? Why or why not?

5. How is Jahanara both powerful and powerless? In what ways is she a “shadow princess,” as the novel’s title suggests?

6. How is Jahanara influential in matters of state? In what instances are her opinions and insight most critical? Why does she staunchly support Dara as Shah Jahan’s successor and vehemently oppose Aurangzeb’s claim to the throne?

7. Why does Jahanara give up her son, Antarah? Does she have any other choice? “
In the end, it was Aurangzeb, with his rigid views on propriety and decency, who reached out a hand to his sister’s son, a boy she would never acknowledge in public
.” Why does Aurangzeb, and not Dara or one of Jahanara’s other brothers, reach out to Antarah?

8. Indu Sundaresan reveals in the Afterword that after Shah Jahan’s death, Jahanara returns to court to be the head of Aurangzeb’s harem. Do you find it surprising that she would accept a position in her brother’s household given her feelings for him? Why or why not?

9. Have you read Indu Sundaresan’s novels
The Twentieth Wife
and
The Feast of Roses
? If so, how do they compare to
Shadow Princess
? If not, are you now interested in reading them?