Rebel Queen: A Novel

This is a fascinating story. I came to this novel with no prior knowledge of the era and now that I've finished it I feel as though I have a solid grasp of the tragedy of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The Rani of Jhansi was an amazing figure to read about and I enjoyed the outside perspective of her gained from one of her Durga Dal, Sita. The Durga Dal was a group of female guards trained to protect the Rani, the queen of the Raja. The Raja was the ruler of Jhansi, one of the princely states of India, when the British East India company had a strong foothold in their territory. What makes the Rani of Jhansi particularly unique however was that she continued to rule after her husband's death, subsequently playing a major part in the Indian Rebellion. By telling the story from Sita's viewpoint we gain not just an idea of who the Rani was as a person, but we are also given insight into the culture of the Jhansi district. Sita is from a small village in the district, a place where women are kept in Purdah; hidden away from the world outside of their homes. Therefore Sita's life as a respected member of the Durga Dal is a far cry from her upbringing. Sita is a strong-willed and intelligent woman who really comes into her own once she is freed from the restraints of Purdah. I love how the author has shown various female perspectives through the inclusion of Sita's sister and grandmother, not to mention other members of the Durga Dal. Their portrayals are very diverse from each other in order for the author to show how their life experiences have shaped their personalities. For example Sita's grandmother is a bitter woman who has suffered so much disappointment in her own life that she resents anything that Sita might accomplish for herself. A friend of Sita's in the Durga Dal, Jhalkari, is a member of the Dalit caste, the lowest social class in India. This caste of society was considered "untouchable" and completely shunned by all other castes of society. Jhalkari's perspective is therefore very different from the other women in the Durga Dal, although not in the way that you might imagine. She is not bitter at all like Sita's grandmother, but rather a kind and giving person. I really enjoyed the various female portrayals and how the author chose to entwine them together to create this story. Although heartbreaking at the end in more ways than one I loved every second of this novel. Being British myself I am horrified by the acts committed during the British occupation of India and I feel a deep regret that such things occurred (as I feel most would, regardless of their nationality). I learnt a lot throughout these pages, but ultimately the feeling I am left with is an immense admiration for the Rani of Jhansi and what she fought for. I absolutely recommended giving this a read.

You can view my original review on my blog - (...) When Rebel Queen was selected as the monthly pick for one of my Goodreads book clubs, I was thrilled. I mean, look at the cover! Stunning! After I read the synopsis, I was sold. A woman ruler who rides into battle alongside a female army? Yes, please! Michelle Moran undertook quite a challenge with Rebel Queen. Not only did she decide to write a historical fiction, but also a historical fiction that takes place in a different culture. She had the challenging task of not only writing a interesting story based on historical events, but also had to educate the readers who are ignorant of Indian culture. The research that must have gone into this book had to have been extensive. I LOVE reading about different cultures, so I was excited to learn more about India and its history. The feminist in me cringed learning about some of the traditional Indian views with regards to women. The birth of girls was often times not celebrated, but seen as only a financial burden. In some cases, the family would choose to “dispose” of the “burden.” We are also introduced to the practice of purdah. Purdah, is the seclusion of women with clothing, veils, walls, screens, curtains, etc. I know there are many factors that play into this practice, but as someone from the outside looking in, it seems like a way for men to control and oppress women. If it is practiced for religious purposes, that is one thing, but it is also practiced from a social perspective. Some rationalize the practice of purdah as protection from men and their sexual urges…as if it is the woman’s fault for tempting a man. I’m going to move on before I really get off on a tangent:) I found the caste system fascinating. The idea that you are born into your caste, or social status, and that you can never change it. From what I understand, karma plays into the selection of your caste. It is thought that if you did something bad in your previous life, that you would come back in a lower caste as punishment. I felt that Michelle Moran did a wonderful job explaining these concepts and putting them into terms that made it easy to grasp. Now on to the characters… I love strong female protagonists. I mean who doesn’t? I’m all about the girl power. Sita wasn’t afraid to question the classic gender roles of the time and push their limits. Not only was Sita beautiful, but she was intelligent and strong. She would do anything for her family, even sacrificing her future prospects in order to provide a better life for her sister. Sita was the epitome of honor. It was easy for me to connect with her and cheer her on. Did I mention she was a book worm to boot? While reading this book, I discovered one of my new favorite book quotes… “For nonreaders, life is simply what they touch and see, not what they feel when they open the pages of a play and are transported to the Forest of Arden or Illyria. Where the world is full of a thousand colors for those who love books, I suspect it is simply black and gray to everyone else. A tree is a tree to them; it is never a magical doorway to another world populated with beings that don’t exist here.” – Rebel Queen Bravo Michelle Moran for writing something so beautiful and profound. You perfectly captured the essence what it means to be a book lover. Sita’s father, was another beloved character for me. In a culture where girls were not revered, he treated his daughters as the most precious things in his life. He taught Sita to read, something unheard of at the time. Not only did he teach her to read in their native language, but he also taught her to read, write, and speak English. By doing this, he instilled a deep love of the written word in her. Without giving anything away, I thought the book’s antagonist was well developed and believable. It was easy to loath this character by the end. As far as the plot goes, I thought it was a fast paced and entertaining read. Rebel Queen does have a minor love story that is secondary to the plot. It was a nice addition to the story, but it was not intended to be a well developed love story. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there were a few shortcomings as well… The prologue and epilogue felt as if they were thrown in as an afterthought. I wish the author would have expanded upon the angle she was trying to achieve. Since she didn’t, they seem pretty irrelevant to the story and do nothing to enhance the plot. The book synopsis was very misleading. The synopsis makes it seem that the book is predominantly about Queen Lakshmi through the eyes of Sita, her female bodyguard, but in reality this is Sita’s story. Furthermore, the synopsis makes it seem as if the battle is a big part of the book, but in reality it is barely portrayed. The “all-female army” is actually a group of 10 women called the Durga Dal, whose sole purpose is to protect the Queen. Even though I feel like the synopsis is a gross misrepresentation of this book, I enjoyed the story for what it really was, the story of the events leading up to the battle of the rebels against the British who were there to steal their land. But mostly, this is the story of Sita, in her quest to become one of the Durga Dal, and her role in the conflict. I guess my biggest criticism is that this book needed to be longer. I felt like there were many different aspects that were underdeveloped that I would have loved for the author to expand upon. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more of Moran’s books. Noteworthy Quotes… “We’ve all done things we’d rather keep in the dark. It’s only by shedding light on them that our demons can disappear.” – Rebel Queen “And grief, for anyone who has ever experienced grief, for anyone who has ever experienced it, is exactly like a predator. It steals first your happiness, and then – if you allow it – everything else.” – Rebel Queen “Inside, I choked down the feelings that threatened to overwhelmed me. I would survive this. I’d survived worse things. After all, I was bamboo, and bamboo bends. It doesn’t break.” – Rebel Queen My Rating: 4/5 stars!

Michelle Moran is simply a wonderful writer. All of her books are unique in their subject matter, and their areas of focus. And they are always incredibly well researched, informed, and presented. Wonderfully different views and insight into personalities and ones that are always uniformly excellent. The Rebel Queen is no different. It is yet anoher example of Michelle Moran's brilliance. I am an ardent fan, and will buy any book she ever writes. Buy this book--you will be happy you did.

Compelling historical fiction. I love Michelle Morans novels, her characters are always well thought out and developed, I hate when her books come to an end. Rebel Queen was a throw back to Morans previous novels, Nefertiti, Cleopatras Daughter, and The Heretic Queen, the books I fell in love with which made me a Moran fan. The book did throw me off for a while, as Moran usually writes from the perspective of the person mentioned in her title, but this was viewed from the perspective of another character. As I continued to read and realized who the narrator was, I enjoyed it as much as her other novels.

This book is very well written and the story fascinating. It showed me how much more I need to read to start to understand the horrors and abuses the British did when they colonized India. I did not know the British were as cruel and greedy to robe the country of India of its wealth and culture in the name of Queen Victoria. They were no better than what the Spaniards did when they landed in the Inca or Mayan empires.

Love this author, takes you to places and people of history in India

Spannende Geschicht um eine Königin im 19. Jahrhundert in Indien, obschon eigentlich eine ihrer Leibwächterinnen die Hauptperson ist und der Titel nur auf den letzten ca 50 Seiten stimmt. Das hat dem Lesegenuss aber absolut keinen Abbruch getan, das Sittenbild ist sehr detailliert wiedergegeben und natürlich für unsere westliche, sogenannt moderne Welt ziemlich erschreckend. Was eine Frau so alles darf und was nicht, und wie furchtbar die Kolonialisierung war. Das weiss man eigentlich alles schon, wird hier aber sehr deutlich und eindrücklich vorgeführt. Ein wirklich gelungener Roman mit sehr vielen Details. Gerne mehr davon.

Nice one

Loved this book!