John Zubrzycki

An illuminating and concise telling of the 5000 years of turbulent history that led India from the ruins of ancient civilisations to an emerging global superpower. One of the oldest civilisations and the largest democracy in the world, India is an amalgam of customs, races, castes, languages, and spiritual beliefs, woven together over 5000 years of wonderfully colossal and chaotic...

'One of the most exciting narrative histories to come out of India.' - William Dalrymple It was a scandal that rocked the highest echelons of the British Raj. In 1891, a notorious jeweller and curio dealer from Simla offered to sell the world's largest brilliant-cut diamond to the fabulously wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad. If the audacious deal succeeded, it would...

The dramatic true story of the betrayal of hundreds of Indian princely states by both the departing British and the new Congress government. In July 1947, India's last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, stood before New Delhi's Chamber of Princes to deliver the most important speech of his career. He had just three weeks to convince over 550 sovereign princely states—some...

A gripping royal saga of charmed lives in a changing world. The Jaipurs were India's mid-century golden couple; its answer to the Kennedys, or Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Jai and Ayesha, as they were known to friends like Frank Sinatra, Truman Capote, and 'Dickie' Mountbatten, entertained lavishly at their magnificent palaces and hunting lodges in Rajasthan—and in the nightclubs...