In 1839, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab died and His Empire was plunged into chaos. Less than a decade later, weakened by internecine rivalry, Punjab fell into the hands of the British. The ruler who signed away the kingdom and it's treasures, including the famed Koh-i-noor diamond, was the eleven year old Duleep Singh, the youngest of Ranjit Singh's acknowledged sons. Soon after the British annexed his kingdom, Duleep was separated from his mother and his people, taken under British guardianship and converted to christianity. At 16 he was transported to England to live the life of a country squire - an exile that he had been schooled to seek himself. But disillusionment with the treatment meted out to him, and a late realization of his lost legacy turned Duleep into a rebel. He became a Sikh again and sought to return to his people. The attempt would drag him into the murky politics of 19th century Europe, leaving him depleted and vulnerable to every kind of deceit and ridicule. His end came in a cheap hotel room in Paris, but not before one last act of betrayal and humiliation
Be the first to review this book!
