Last King in India: Wajid Ali Shah

Excellent, thorough, and smooth look into the interaction and cultural misunderstandings of British East India Company officers and Awadh's last king, Wajid Ali Shah and his Muslim (and Mughal) heritage, told in topic groupings. Fascinating. Rosie Llewellyn-Jones is The Expert on Awadh.

Excellent book which is very well-written. Shows the decadence of the Lucknow culture which contributed to the fall of local monarchies and the ascendency of British power in India. If only someone like Emperor Aurangzeb or Emperor Akbar was King instead of that desolute wretch, Wajid Ali Shah, the whole scenario would have been different.

A good description of Wajid Ali but very repetitive. Since the author doesn’t have any knowledge of either Farsi or Urdu, the two languages of Lucknow court, she had to rely on earlier English translations which could be biased. Still the author tried to read between the lines to give an unbiased view as much as possible.

This is a wonderful take on the reign of Wajid Ali Shah...the last king in India and probably the most colorful character of the Awadh empire. Rosie Jones takes us on a journey filled with interesting vignettes and differing points of view, painting a picture that is humane and probably a true reflection of the times that British India lived through. Its a story that has been hardly told and fills a void in our history- ranging from the Shia rise in India, to the idiosyncrasies that characterized the king's families, his love for animals and the love hate relationship that the British shared with the monarchy. This is a book that deserves attention and is a dream come true for history buffs.

excellent ,well researched ,well written account of the last ruler of the powerful Awad dynasty of northern india.

I am giving this book four stars, because she has brought a forgotten king to life. She has focussed a lot on his character, the role he played in history, the rather nasty role played by the British East India CompanyShe has not tried to flatter him, and this is good. I wish she had written more about Queen Hazrat Mahal. She played a significant role in 1857

This is an excellent and well written history of Wajid Ali Shah, which describes the political situation re the British very well. The author has taken a great deal of care in providing a balanced view of this last King of Awadh, countering a lot of the negative propaganda of the colonial British. I was very surprised to see that almost no mention was made of Wajid Ali Shah's contributions to the arts. He is held in high esteem by many Indians, especially for his contribution to the thumri genre of semi-classical singing. Indeed he is sometimes credited with inventing the genre, though this is not true. His songs are still sung today, including the popular "Babul More Naihar" composed on his exile from Lucknow. It is for this omission that I give this only four stars. I would have thought a discussion of his contribution to the arts would have merited a chapter and it would make the case even more strongly for a sympathetic reappraisal of this complex character.

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.- George SantayanaThe last king in India, Wajid Ali Shah, is beautifully narrated book about the life and times of the last ruler of the kingdom of Awadh. The main USP of this book is that the author has highlighted both the positives and negatives of the man who never forgot that he was a king, and did not allow others to forget it.For more information on this article you can also visit -Dontbignorant.in

Fascinating tale of truly the Last King in India

It was a gift to a history buff. He thought it was interesting but not exceptional.

A very well researched book. A great read. A whole lot can gleaned from this book.