LAST PRINCE OF BENGAL

The tragic story of the dethroned princes of Bengal, this is a spellbinding family history. The Nawab Nazim was born into one of India's most powerful royal families but by 1880 he was forced to abdicate by British authorities who permanently abolished his titles. The Nawab's change in fortune marked the end of an era in India and left his secret English family abandoned. The book tells the true story as the family sought by turns to befriend, settle in and eventually escape Britain. From glamourous receptions with Queen Victoria to a scandalous marriage to an English chambermaid, and from Bengal tiger hunts to sheep farming in the harsh Australian outback, Lyn Innes recounts her ancestors' extraordinary journey from royalty to relative anonymity. Along the way the book uncovers truths about the British Empire and the injustices faced by millions as a result of the regime, colonial attitudes and hypocrisies across two centuries and insights into social status sensibilities in the age of Empire. 250pp, illustrated paperback.