"The Bombay Prince” - Sujata Massey

(Perveen Mistry book 3)

🎒Massey captures the tense atmosphere in post-WWI India; it was one of smoldering resentment. She alluded to this in her prior novels in the series, but she confronts the burgeoning Indian independence movement head-on, in TBP.

🎒The murder of a young, Parsi woman happened against the backdrop of the arrival in India of the Prince of Wales. Were the motivations for the murder connected to the political turmoil, or was the answer far simpler? Perveen feels strongly compelled to find justice for Freny, with whom she felt a strong kinship as a fellow Parsi woman bucking social expectations.

🎒Perveen, with her polish and education, moves between two worlds: the upper circles of the British administration in India, and her Parsi community. She is shown to sympathize with the Indian independence movement, yet she is painfully aware that Parsis were often stereotyped as loyalists, and subjected to attacks and harassment. Massey also highlights the intergenerational conflict in attitudes toward the British presence in India. The Cuttingmasters are far more conservative than their pro-independence daughter Freny.

🎒 Perveen’s privilege is on full display in TBP. To me, she felt less plucky and compelling here, than in the previous two books. The heavy emphasis on the opulence of Perveen’s life, rendered her more of a one-dimensional rich girl on a mission to solve a crime.

🎒 I love when real, historical events form plot points in historical fiction. In addition to the controversial Prince of Wales tour, Massey also refers to a 1908 event where two Indian men allegedly killed a British official. They were executed and their supporters were punished. Balgangadhar “Lokmanya” Tilak criticized the executions, and was imprisoned for speaking out. Intrigued as I was by this historical excursion, I felt that Massey left some loose ends here. Why was Freny conducting this research? I wish this had been further developed.

🎒 In TBP we see distinct factions developing: Indians agitating for Indian independence, Indian loyalists fearing the chaos that could ensue if India gained independence, and the British themselves, attempting to hold together a diverse population they scarcely understood.

🎒I also went down the internet rabbit hole of reading about the early life and career of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his wife Maryam (Ruttie) Jinnah. In this novel, Mr. Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan, appears as a prominent attorney in the periphery of Perveen’s acquaintance.