The Last Vicereine: A Novel By Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang

Review to follow. Paperback

Free download ¼ E-book, or Kindle E-pub æ Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang

It was the spring of 1947 when Lord and Lady Mountbatten arrived in New Delhi. India was on the brink of civil war. The reluctant vicereine was a rebel, a rule breaker.

It was never going to be easy working for her. She was a troubled old soul, a great beauty, a firecracker. But there was more to Edwina than met the eye. The glamour was a façade. Behind it was a highly intelligent woman of influence and power. They would always say that ought not to have been. But it was and the greatest of all Edwina's friends was Jawahar.

No one could have imagined the maelstrom of intrigue, events and relationships that would change their lives and those of millions of Indians forever. Set amidst the turmoil of Partition, The Last Vicereine is a heart-breaking story of the birth of two nations, of love, grief, tragedy, inhumanity and of the triumph of hope. The Last Vicereine: A Novel

Conflicted about giving this three stars cause there were times when I could see it being four and others where I wanted to give it two. It definitely didn't need to be as long as it did but I appreciated the reimagination of a lesser-known aspect of Indian history. The description and title are definitely misleading as this book is barely about Edwina Mountbatten herself and revolves around Lady Wallace. I would call it interesting but not riveting. You'll only be able to finish it if you want to but not because the actual book propels you to. Paperback This book is evergreen. It will become a classic. This book is not to be forgotten. — After hearing these praises your first thought would be that I loved this book, which I ABSOLUTELY did! It’s writing was amazing, I loved all the characters. This book is titled ‘The Last Vicereine’, who was Edwina Mountbatten, The Last Vicereine of India. However this book doesn’t totally evolve around her but rather people like Lady Wallace and Jawaharlal Nehru. I’m not spoiling this for you, because you BETTER start reading this. A trapiquatrigazillion stars!! Paperback Rating- 3.5/5

This is a well written book. However, I feel that it has been wrongly named because instead of speaking about the Last Vicerine, it is an account of the experiences of her Special Assistant Lady Letticia Wallace (fictional character). However the author has included some of the most important events surrounding the time was India was declared independent, the mass exodus and the leaving of the Mountbattens.

The prose is beautiful and keeps you interested. But I was a bit disappointed because as the name suggests I was thinking it would be about the Last Vicerine which it certainly isn't.

The author has done thorough research and has also spoken to some of the people who were eye witnesses to the events that unfolded after the Mountbattens came to India. It is a good book except for the fact that it is not about Lady Mountbatten. Paperback Lady Wallace, the narrator, accompanies the newly appointed viceroys to India. A fictional character, Lady Wallace in “The Last Vicereine” gives us a third person’s perspective on events leading up to independence. Through her eyes, we see the actions of famed historical figures like Nehru, Gandhi, the Mountbatten’s and Jinnah. Through this book, we witness the immensely challenging task the British have of fixing up the mess that India has become after a 300-year long British rule.

Although the title “The Last Vicereine” suggests that the story centers around the affair that Lady Mountbatten had with Pandit Nehru, this is not the core of the novel. Personally, I would have much preferred a book where the narrative is voiced by Edwina Mountbatten herself. But this is challenging to do in a book where so many key historical events are happening simultaneously. Lady Wallace ends up being the perfect eyewitness to Indian history as it unfolds in the last days of empire.

I felt that the love story between Lady Wallace and Dr. Rathore went a bit over the top. I didn’t see what Tsang was trying to get at with this development in the plot. Not sure if it did much for the book.

Lady Wallace tells us what it’s like for a British person to witness the partition of an already divided country and the subsequent communal riots that ensued all in the name of the birth of a new nation.

Having grown up reading history books I feel like this novel did justice to its subject matter. For the most part, the English in India is portrayed in an almost saintly manner. They are seen engaging in relief work, providing funds, and being in all the places they ought to be.

The novel is set in Delhi and gives an insight into the lives of Indian aristocrats of the time. But in doing so, it leaves in the dark the lives of commoners. The multitudes of faces that are talked about in the novel at various points remain just that-multitudes of blank faces. I would have liked if Jenkins had written a bit about Indian commoners too.

A slightly puzzling aspect of the plot I observed though- it must not be ignored that Lady Wallace is a widower who has also lost two of her children in the war. She has nothing to go back to England for. India turns out to heal her and help her make peace with these losses. This kind of a trope has been repeatedly seen in books. For example, in the novel Eat, Pray, Love or in movies like the Grand Exotic Marigold hotel 1, and 2. There’s that all too familiar trope of English people coming to India in order to obtain some peace of mind and/or a spiritual awakening. I felt that this is one of many things that happen to the character of Lady Wallace.

This isn’t a bad book at all in that it provides an insight into the lives of the English in India during the final few days of Empire. It also highlights the way in which the shared relationship between English and Indians evolved into something cordial and formal as opposed to the earlier one which was based on hostility and anger.
The novel manages to cover some very historic events from the death of the Mahatma to the communal riots post-partition and the jubilee celebrations. Many things changed after the birth of India-the names of buildings, roads, government offices, all these things changed and a mindset changed. This is one among many aspects that are beautifully portrayed by Tsang.

The novel raises the question of whether men in power would go to great extents when it comes to protecting the love they have for a lady. Does the governance of an entire nation ultimately rest on the fate of the relationship powerful men have with beautiful women? The novel has a feminine figure at the center of the narrative and the most memorable characters are in fact, female. Lady Wallace, Lady Ovington, Lady Edwina and Amrit Kaur to name a few. While the male characters like Dickie, Nehru, Rathore, and even Gandhi seem fairly bland in comparison. In her writing, Jenkins perfectly captures the vastness and sheer enormity of the country that is India.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book. Although The Last Vicereine is slow paced at first, it does pick up after the first 6 chapters or so. I recommend this novel for people interested in Indian History, Colonialism, and for those looking to learn a bit more about the lives of the British in India during the final leg of their 300-year reign.

Please do not forget to take this as solely a work of fiction. It is, without doubt, a tasteful welding of fiction and fact. For this, it makes history seem all the more exciting by opening up doors of possibilities. Paperback The book is really well researched, and you'll enjoy it if you like Indian history and are interested in Partition. The mood is dark and dreary, and the protagonist spends a lot of time thinking about her depressing past and how there's no respite for her even thousands of miles away in India. It makes for really heavy reading. The book is well written though, with vivid descriptions of people, places and events. Paperback