Posted on: 15 October 2011

Digital Rare Book :
Mistress of Men - A Novel
By Flora Annie Steel
Published by Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York - 1917

It is impossible that the life of Nurjahan the Beautiful should remain unwritten.

Of reliable historical incident much is available, of equally reliable tradition still more; the whole going to make up a life marvelous in its romance, touching in its humanity.

In this sketch of it I have adhered in all matters of importance to the evidence of contemporaneous witnesses. That I have given a different complexion to them in many cases, I admit; but no careful student of character and motive could avoid doing so.

Briefly, Nurjahan's extraordinary personality and power which even in these days would raise criticism in a woman exposed her in the seventeenth century to inevitable traducing. Sinister motives were found for her every action; above all, personal ambition was held to be her ruling motive. This assertion is, to my mind, pulverized by the undenied fact that, after her husband, the Emperor Jahangir's, death, she voluntarily retired from all public life and lived a widow indeed.

In like manner she is credited with much plotting and planning, of which beyond the statement of her enemies no trace is to be found either in her character or her actions.

- Author


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Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/mistressofmennov00steeiala#page/n5/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : http://www.archive.org/download/mistressofmennov00steeiala/mistressofmennov00steeiala.pdf

Thanks

Look forward to reading the book. Thanks.

Luv historical fiction & wud like to read this as well. Yes, very few authors write about the importance of women in history - Nur Jahan has also been covered by Indu Sundareshan in 'The Twentieth Wife'. Another of her books 'Shadow Princess' is on Jahanara. Both great reads!

@sanchitam. u will be surprised to learn the important role played by women in Mughal rule.

an interesting angle (i think i have narrated this to my friend sameer khan ^ personally, over a couple of beers) - nurjahan's family reached india almost penniless, having fallen out of favor with the persian court. from here, you find the rise of 3 women from this family who attained almost supreme power in india - they found power almost as it they were on an inevitable trajectory. nurjahan married jahangir, even if she was married earlier to someone else, who was, as rumors fly, deliberately put in harm's way by jahangir and finished off, so that he could have nurjahan. after this, nurjahan was known to exert a very powerful influence on all royal matter as the real power behind the throne. So, jahangir was crazy abt her. nurjahan's niece, mumtaz mahal married shahjahan - he was crazy enough abt her, too; everyone knows abt the taj mahal. Mumtaz's daughter jahanara also wielded power through her father, enough for her to be declared first lady of the empire in spite of her father having other queens. apparently, all three ladies knew and practiced the science of perfume making - had to be a family secret, passed down from woman to woman. jahanara apparently even sustained burns in an accident while she was dabbling in perfumery. i have always suspected that the family of nurjahan knew some secrets of perfumery (perhaps through some key components based on oxytocin, a chemical that apparently evokes trust and love, by acting on the nervous system through the nasal neuroepithelium) that allowed them to captivate their men in such a complete manner.

@ pankaj, yes sir i absolutely remember our talk on the subject and your enriching knowledge on the subject :)

this is the same flora steel who wrote the article on phulkari embroidery?

Wow ! Thats an amazing and highly probable conclusion... Pankaj Sapkal ! Most interesting...

The Smell Report Emotion : The perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the odours themselves but of the experiences and emotions associated with these sensations. Smells can evoke strong emotional reactions. In surveys on reactions to odours, responses show that many of our olfactory likes and dislikes are based purely on emotional associations. Read more : http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html Download pdf : http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell.pdf

@RBSI. my good friend Mr Pankaj has some amazing knowledge and information on the subject.

RBSI: this is a wonderful series that you have initiated. it would be great to see some great on the highly significant achievements of jahanara. among other thing's delhi's chandni chowk was jahanara's concept. the fact that it is still considered as a a very significant cultural landmark (in the way that it still retains its own vibrant living culture) can be considered as a major achievement in the domain of urban planning, fostering such a vital centuries-old human buzz around it that has lasted through the centuries

Thanks Pankaj Sapkal...will soon post on Jahanara to continue this thread !

i admire your GREAT collection each and every link is appropriate- specially it brings Memories of my trip to delhi- 2008-well said, to all, comments-