Penguin Books, India; HarperCollins, UK; Viking, USA

At the heart of this book is what the author calls "the Indian conquest of the European imagination." Situated at the turn of the 19th century and centered on a romance between a British officer of the East India Company and the daughter of the prime minister of an Indian city-state, the book chronicles the resulting love, betrayal, and accusations of spying – and, at the same time, challenges the theory of the "clash of civilizations" and the idea that East and West are irreconcilable. “Only bigotry, prejudice, racism, and fear drive them apart,” writes Dalrymple, “but they have met and mingled in the past and they will do so again.”

William Dalrymple is the author of the acclaimed British bestseller In Xanadu. He also wrote City of Djinns, From the Holy Mountain, and a collection of essays on India – The Age of Kali. At present, he divides his time between London and Delhi.