Finally a look into the zenana—not titillating tales of concubines and orgies but of Timurid matriarchs advising kings, queens following them through snows and sandstorms, devoted sisters writing histories of their family. Spanning the reigns of all the Great Mughals, these women are politically savvy, participating in every aspect of life in their courts. Their gradual but inevitable absorption into Hindustan is vividly unfolded… A book whose time has come!’