About the Book

This is an extraordinary tale of a seemingly ordinary nautch girl who ruled over the province of Sardhana for almost fifty-eight years. She cast a spell on the world with her beauty, intelligence, valour and diplomacy. This biographical account accompanies the matriarch in her transformative journey from a girl named Farzana to Begum Samru. Her story has its fair share of war, politics and diplomacy alongside love, betrayal, conspiracies and ruthlessness.

About the Author

Raj Gopal Singh Verma is a post-graduate in journalism and history. He is a regular contributor to national newspapers, magazines, journals and radio broadcasts in Hindi and English. An author of high repute, he has written a number of books in Hindi and also edited the monthly literary magazine of the Uttar Pradesh government. His book The Lady of Two Nations, biography of Begum Ra'ana, wife of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, was well received. Verma has won numerous awards, including the Shreshth Kahani Puraskar, the Kathabimb Kamleshwar Smriti Kahani Award in 2019, the Pt Mahaveer Prasad Samman for best biography in 2021 and the Pandey Bechan Sharma ‘Ugra’ Award in 2022.