“Book Descriptions: The Book of Indian Queens brings together stories and essays by some of our finest writers and historians about some of the greatest women who ruled India. Mahasweta Devi writes about Rani Lakshmibai, Ruskin Bond tells the story of an enigmatic modern rani, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni narrates the poignant tale of the last great queen of Punjab, Rudrangshu Mukherjee describes Begum Hazrat Mahal’s role in the freedom struggle, Ira Mukhoty brings Razia Sultan to life, Manu S. Pillai chronicles the queens of Travancore, Ruby Lal provides insights into Nur Jahan, Abraham Eraly recounts the exploits of the queens of classical India, Gayatri Devi tells her own astonishing story, and Binodini and Archana Garodia Gupta relate stories of other remarkable queens from history.” DRIVE