The Moghul

The Moghul

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4.6666666666667
(3 Reviews)
The Moghul by Thomas Hoover

Published:

1983

Pages:

613

Downloads:

3,918

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The Moghul

By

4.6666666666667
(3 Reviews)
THE MOGHUL begins in a rip-roaring sea battle north of Bombay in which the vastly out-gunned adventurer, Brian Hawksworth, ship's captain and emissary of King James, blows away a flotilla of Portuguese galleons to gain access to an Indian port. He's come to open trade for "barbaric" England and squeeze out the Portuguese, who try to kill him at every turn. But once on land, he's captive: the beauty and romance of the exquisite Moghul Empire seduce him from his material goals to a new quest – of supreme sensuality in music, visions, and sacred lovemaking. India, ruled by the son of great Akbar, is about to pass to one of his sons. Hawksworth must choose sides, but will he choose right? The future of England, and of India, depend on it. Assailed by intrigue and assassination, tormented by a forbidden love, enthralled by a mystic poet, Hawksworth engages war elephants, tiger hunts, the harem of the Red Fort of Agra, the Rajput warriors at Udaipur, becomes intimate champion to Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and, in his supreme test, plays the sitar with a touch that elicits from the great Shah – "Finally, my English friend – you understand."THE MOGHUL was immediately a European best-seller, optioned by Indian producers who commissioned a six-hour mini-series, then Canadian producers with the BBC.

Book Excerpt

hing left to pawn. Two years before, he had been leading a convoy of merchantmen through the Mediterranean when their ships and cargo were seized by Turkish corsairs, galleys owned by the notorious dey of Tunis. He had finally managed to get back to London, but now he was a captain without a ship. In years past this might have been small matter to remedy. But no longer. England, he discovered, had changed.

The change was apparent mainly to seamen. The lower house of Parliament was still preoccupied fighting King James's new proposal that Scotland be joined to England, viewed by most Englishmen as a sufferance of proud beggars and ruffians upon a nation of uniformly upright taxpayers; in London idle crowds still swarmed the bear gardens to wager on the huge mastiffs pitted against the chained bears; rioting tenant farmers continued to outrage propertied men by tearing down enclosures and grazing their flocks on the gentry's private hunting estates; and the new Puritans increasingly harassed everyone the

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An outstanding novel that captures the style of the times and locations.

Characters are developed and presented in a manner that completes their interaction with the protagonist and other characters.

I recommend this book for adults and mature audiences.
Really enjoyed this one. Very elaborate descriptions, almost excessive in some places. The book ends as if leaving the option for a sequel, although I do not think one was written - correct me if I am wrong about that.