Who knew we needed this?!

Some years ago, Ruby Lal had written  Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan. It was received well worldwide. But who knew that this extraordinary book needed to be retold for teenagers, imbued with the perfect zippity zap magic of Ruby Lal’s storytelling and Molly Crabapple’s fabulous illustrations. Sometimes when creative souls come together for a project and pour their passion into it, the end result is a product that is utterly perfect. This is one of those rare gems.

Decide for yourself in these snapshots from the book. Look at the layouts. Look at the illustration. Look at the font. Look at the page design. Look at the manner in which the text is not crowded on every page.

Although targetted for the young adult market, this is one of those titles that in all likelihood will become staple fare in the crossover market or for tourists.

Ruby Lal is an award-winning historian of India and professor of South Asian history at Emory
University whose writing has appeared in Time, BBC History, and Literary Hub. She is the author
of Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her most recent book, Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan, was longlisted for the prestigious Cundill History Prize and received praise from the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Times Literary Supplement, among others. She divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and Delhi, India.

Molly Crabapple is an artist and writer whose articles and art have appeared in the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Paris Review, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. Her work has been nominated for three Emmys, has been longlisted for the National Book Award, and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. She lives in New York City.

16 August 2025