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    Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in): The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant
    Unavailable
    Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in): The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant
    Unavailable
    Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in): The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant
    Ebook404 pages

    Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in): The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant

    By Shrabani Basu

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The tall, handsome Abdul Karim was just twenty-four years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. An assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, he suddenly found himself a personal attendant to the Empress of India herself. Within a year, he was established as a powerful figure at court, becoming the queen’s teacher, or Munshi, and instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish ghillie, the queen had at last found his replacement. But her intense and controversial relationship with the Munshi led to a near-revolt in the royal household.

    Victoria & Abdul examines how a young Indian Muslim came to play a central role at the heart of the empire, and his influence over the queen at a time when independence movements in the sub-continent were growing in force. Yet, at its heart, it is a tender love story between an ordinary Indian and his elderly queen, a relationship that survived the best attempts to destroy it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateApr 11, 2011
    ISBN9780752463667
    Unavailable
    Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in): The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant
    Author

    Shrabani Basu

    Shrabani Basu is an author and a journalist. She was born in Kolkata and grew up in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi. Her books include Victoria & Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant, now a major motion picture, Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan and For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front, 1914–18. In 2010, she set up the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and campaigned for a memorial for the Second World War heroine, which was unveiled by Princess Anne in London in November 2012.

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    Reviews for Victoria and Abdul (film tie-in)

    3.5/5

    37 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Updated memoir of relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim in the late 1800's. Updated based on journals kept by Karim. Movie based on this story is pretty true to the book. Karim was from India (rued by the English at that time) and sent to England as part of a ceremony for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. They immediately formed a bond and he remained by her side until her death 20 years later. The Queen's Household (family and closest associates) grew increasingly disturbed at the relationship as the queen elevated Karim's status beyond the norm. As soon as possible after her death he was proclaimed persona no grata and left England. Unlike the movie, the book portrays the "demands" of Karim and the willingness of the queen to grant them. But, in the end, it is obvious that Karim loved Victoria as a son loves a mother.
    • 4/5
      This book is NOT for everyone; it's not narrative non-fiction. It's a little dry, but I really enjoyed it. i found the story really interesting. I felt that the author gave the information without too much bias, but others in my book club disagreed. I don't know if Karim was living off of the Queen and was an egomaniac or someone who truly cared for the Queen and the benefits were mere icing on the cake. Because of my uncertainty as to his true self, I decided the account was more unbiased. I'll be interested to see how the movie portrays their relationship--to see their interpretation. Others in the book club felt that the author was sympathetic to Karim. Once again, this account is "just the facts" and dry. I was one of four who actually enjoyed the book. Quite honestly, I'm surprised I liked and finished it, as I don't read books of this ilk much.
    • 4/5
      As someone who didn't really have any knowledge about Victoria's Indian Secretary, the Munshi, I really didn't go into this book with any preconceived notions.This is an excellent study examining the relationship between Queen Victoria, Abdul, and the London Court. The author does an incredible job bringing this story to light.Any fan of Queen Victoria should read this.
    • 1/5
      Not the complete review. The story being taken up is great and that is why I loaned it from the library. However, the writing is not great. It is kind of a dairy diary entry, which I generally find interesting, but here it did not made any sense.
    • 4/5
      By the time Queen Victoria started the last decade of her life, she had lost her beloved Prince Albert in 1861 and her Scottish personal servant, John Brown, in 1883- many people speculated that she and Brown were secretly married, they were so close. She was a sad and lonely woman. Then, unexpectedly, she found a new friend: Abdul Karim, from India. He arrived as part of a contingent of Indians, a gift, as it were, to her for her Golden Jubilee. While a number of high ranking Indians visited England for the event, Karim was sent over (along with several others) as a servant. At first he waited at table, but he moved on swiftly. Despite a language barrier, the Queen and Karim began to communicate. He was solicitous and caring. Soon he was teaching her Hindi; soon after that he became a secretary. He took care of her correspondence and performed other duties. When they were apart, they wrote each other constantly. As they became closer, Victorian began to advance him in rank and give him valuable gifts and honors. This brought out jealously in both the servant’s quarters and the court- especially the court. He was being allowed to walk, sit, and ride with the court elite, and this made them furious. He was from the lower middle class, he wasn’t a Christian, and, worst of all, he had brown skin. Obviously inferior! He was with her until her death; the last person to be with her body before it was put into the coffin. Needless to say, the court instantly stripped him of as many things as they could, demanded all of Victoria’s letters to him and burned them on site. He went home to India. Having read a couple of biographies of Queen Victoria, I knew much of this story already, but it was written from the court’s point of view- that Karim (known as the Munshi, a Hindi term for ‘secretary’) took horrible advantage of the Queen. But the author found Karim’s family in Karachi, and they had a trunk full of his journals. This unlocked the past and gave the Munshi’s side of the story. Because I’d read about Victoria’s life before, I found some of the book tedious. But if you’ve not read about the Queen’s later life, it won’t be tedious. It’s a short, interesting book that shows us how some things never change.
    • 3/5
      This novel drove me crazy. At first, it was very dry and factual, which was fine with me after two rather stressful horror novels. I was using this novel as a palate cleanser, of sorts.
      But the petty jealousies, racism, classism, and bullshit that the *entire* household staff (support and care system) that took care of Queen Victoria drove me absolutely batty. It disgusted me so badly, I couldn’t enjoy the novel at all. I can understand completely why at one point why the Queen got so pissed off, she swiped everything on her desk off it, in one sweeping motion. I’d have started throwing shit at people, no joke. And the fired them. But then again, I wouldn’t have apologized for my being angry like Queen Victoria did almost every time these spouts happened, and I don’t put up with that shit. AT ALL.
      So while others are going on about the writing style of the author, the storyline, and the characters, I can only say that this novel was incredibly difficult to make it through to the ending. Even with the great narration abilities of Elizabeth Jasiki, who took on every single Indian name, word, or city with no problems whatsoever.
      The entire novel was like this: Munshi Abdul Karim was invited somewhere, or got some kind of recognition; then the whole household got jealous and pissy, then someone went and told the Queen that they all hated her Munshi was invited/honored, then the Queen got mad, and then either wrote letters to the entire staff trying to correct them of their failings or one specific person, and then the Queen would later apologize for her words in another letter. Every. Single. Time. ARRRRGH....!

      3 stars, and not really recommended, unless you can look past these awful people and their massive failings.