Book excerpt: “Breathtaking in its scope and wonderfully illuminating. . . . one of the most powerfully convincing characters in recent historical fiction.” —Alberto Manguel, The Guardian Gossip was rife in the capital about the poetess of Qazvin. Some claimed she had been arrested for masterminding the murder of the grand Mullah, her uncle. Others echoed her words, and passed her poems from hand to hand. Everyone spoke of her beauty, and her dazzling intelligence. But most alarming to the Shah and the court was how the poetess could read. As her warnings and predictions became prophecies fulfilled, about the assassination of the Shah, the hanging of the Mayor, and the murder of the Grand Vazir, many wondered whether she was not only reading history but writing it as well. Was she herself guilty of the crimes she was foretelling? Set in the world of the Qajar monarchs, mayors, ministers, and mullahs, this book explores the dangerous yet luminous legacy left by a remarkable person. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani offers a gripping tale that is at once a compelling history of a pioneering woman, a story of nineteenth century Iran told from the street level up, and a work that is universally relevant to our times. “Mordant and seethingly intelligent.” —Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal “An engrossing story.” —Gayatri Devi, World Literature Today “Haunting . . . reminds us all that whether Tudor, Qajar, or Clinton, behind every throne is a queen mother, wife, and sister who runs the show.” —Davar Ardalan, Washington Independent Review “Nakjavani offers a philosophically complex yet lyrically wrought examination of the eternal struggle for women’s rights.” —Carol Haggas, Booklist “Nakhjavani deftly transforms an incomplete history into legend. . . . An expertly crafted epic.” —Kirkus Reviews