Category: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Rights: World rights available (excluding Indian subcontinent)
The Golden Age of Hollywood meets end-of-the-Raj India. The romance of “the next Lana Turner” and a Cambridge-educated maharaja threatens his kingdom during the tumultuous days before Independence.
It is 1946 Hollywood, and sparks fly when the dashing Maharaja of Cooch Behar, Jagaddipendra Narayan, meets Star of Tomorrow Nancy Valentine. A fictionalized account, The Star of India is based on the real-life romance between a rising young actress and a Cambridge-educated war hero and ruler of an ancient principality. Bhaiya sweeps Nancy back home during India’s tumultuous run-up to Independence. Amid the power struggles of every political, royal, and religious faction, Nancy is entangled in a whirlwind of intrigue, espionage, and attempted murder. Bhaiya comes under great pressure from his elegant and formidable mother, Indira of Cooch Behar, who believes his marriage to a foreigner will weaken the family’s position with their people, and make them vulnerable to a government takeover. Amid growing opposition to the couple’s union, the state’s fabled Mughal Ruby disappears, and its curse will shadow them all.
The author: Diana R Chambers