The flickering, faded footage shows the ruler of Palanpur’s summer house. On a terrace overlooking the lake, Joan tilts her head and turns slightly, with unconscious grace. She smiles enigmatically. It appears to be a scene of great happiness. But who can tell? In 1939, young Joan Falkiner’s spirited flight from South Yarra to princely India and her marriage to the Muslim ruler of a small state in Gujarat sent shockwaves through Melbourne society. News of their union quickly spread throughout the Raj and as the kingdoms were about to disappear forever in the maelstrom of Indian Independence went as high as the British throne. How did it all come about? Through conversations in Melbourne, Mumbai and the South of France, research in the India Office Library in London, and her own observations while travelling in modern India, Suzanne Falkiner traces the course of a most unusual love story. Praise for Joan in India ‘The typical fairytale of marrying a prince comes to life in this biography of an Australian girl who leaves her family … to marry a Muslim ruler … in India … Through part travelogue, Falkiner traces the feelings of Joan upon arriving … to wed a man 36 years her senior. Falkiner’s descriptions … are insightful and conjure up the very essence of being on the streets of India. The documentation of the Independence period … is brilliant and the reader gets a real grasp of how things were at the time.’ FOUR STARS **** BOOKSELLER + PUBLISHER MAGAZINE
2020/08/28 01:45:57
