Book Review: The Last Queen — Fast Paced Historic Fiction Set in Punjab

The Last Queen — By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Published: 2021
Genre: Historic Fiction
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5
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A well written historic fiction about a female ruler that captures the beauty and turbulence in Punjab during the 1800s.

Synopsis:
The story follows the life of Rani Jindan Singh, daughter of a kennel keeper and the youngest queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. She manages to carve a prominent role in the court for herself even though she is a woman. She is made the reagent after her son ascends the throne at six years old. This is an impressive tale of how a commoner navigates the royal court as a woman, fights wars against the British, faces numerous betrayals but still moves forward in resilience.

Review:
This is my second book from Chitra Divakaruni and it definitely beat the last one. I devoured this read in a matter of days. The writing was captivating.

The book is divided into four parts and follows a chronological order. We follow Rani Jindan from when she was a little girl up until her death. The story reads more like a drama but keeps you engaged throughout.

Historic Fiction is one of my favorite genres and this one has all the right twists and turns of a political drama set in late 1800s India. The author describes in detail the luxuries of royal life, the dynamics in the palace and the traditions back then. There are a plethora of characters throughout the read and at times it might be slightly hard to keep track of all of them.

The character arc of the queen was written beautifully. We see her as a stubborn inexperienced intelligent girl falling in love with the king of Punjab and later growing up to become a strong woman doing everything to protect the land and her son from the British.

I found this to be a fast paced read that had me hooked on Rani Jindan and Punjab. I highly recommend this book!