Part love story, part history lesson, and part introduction to the culture of India in the 1600s during the Great Mughal Empire, Sandra Wilson has done a fine job of weaving all of these elements into Taj - The Woman And The Wonder. While the novel is rooted in historical fact, Sandra adds her own layer fleshing out the personalities and frictions that are well documented historically, but obviously are without the actual dialog.
As you might have guessed from the title, this book at least in part concerns one of the great wonders of the world , the Taj Mahal, and the lady that inspired it’s construction.
Taj - The Woman And The Wonder follows the fortunes of Shah Jahan and his very beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal from their not so humble beginnings. It is told through the thoughts of Shah Jahan on his deathbed. As first son of Emperor Jahangir, Prince Khurram’s future seemed assured, he is almost guaranteed to eventually wear the ‘Royal Turban’ and be the next Grand Mughal. Unfortunately the current Empress has different ideas. Although the power of the empire eminates from the Emperor, the real power comes from the woman behind the scenes, Nur Jahan, and she is unwilling to relinquish her control over India.
The young Prince Khurram through an arranged marriage becomes the husband to the very beautiful Mumtaz Mahal, and so starts a love affair that transcends even his beloved wife's death. Here is a hint, Khurram’s pet name for his wife was Taj, and I’ll just bet you can’t guess the name of the mausoleum built to honor her?
The young prince and princess find that life is not a bed of roses; behind the scenes Nur Jahan is gradually poisoning Khurram’s image in the mind of the Emperor, which results in a huge rift between father and son.
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