Vagabond Princess, Ruby Lal
Vagabond Princess, Ruby Lal
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Vagabond Princess
The Great Adventures of Gulbadan

Author: Ruby Lal

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 11 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/26/2024

Synopsis

Situated in the early decades of the magnificent Mughal Empire, this first ever biography of Princess Gulbadan offers an enthralling portrait of a charismatic adventurer and unique pictures of the multicultural society in which she lived. Following a migratory childhood that spanned Kabul and north India, Gulbadan spent her middle years in a walled harem established by her nephew Akbar to showcase his authority as the Great Emperor. Gulbadan longed for the exuberant itinerant lifestyle she'd known. With Akbar's blessing, she led an unprecedented sailing and overland voyage and guided harem women on an extended pilgrimage in Arabia. Amid increasing political tensions, the women's "un-Islamic" behavior forced their return, lengthened by a dramatic shipwreck in the Red Sea.

Gulbadan wrote a book upon her return, the only extant work of prose by a woman of the age. A portion of it is missing, either lost to history or redacted by officials who did not want the princess to have her say.

Vagabond Princess contemplates the story of the missing pages and breathes new life into a daring historical figure. It offers a portal to a richly complex world, rife with movement and migration, where women's conviviality, adventure, and autonomies shine through.

About Ruby Lal

Ruby Lal is an acclaimed historian of India, a professor at Emory University, and the author of three books and numerous essays, op-eds, and literary pieces. Her book Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan won the Georgia Author of the Year Award in biography and was a finalist in history for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on February 04, 2024

Did you ever party so hard you got kicked out of an entire city? Well, Gulbadan did. Ok, not entirely. It wasn't for partying but she did get kicked out of a city. Gulbadan is the titular character in Ruby Lal's Vagabond Princess. As the title suggests, Gulbadan was a princess and she did a fair bit......more

Goodreads review by Madhulika on May 14, 2024

In Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan, Ruby Lal writes that in about 1587, the Mughal Emperor Akbar decided to commission an official history of his empire. The work, Akbarnama, was to be written by Abul Fazl; but Abul Fazl would need the help of those who had gone before. Among tho......more

Goodreads review by Chris on April 07, 2024

History in the subjunctive mood This biography unpacks an important figure and gives a clear and engaging account of how she fitted into her world. The words "would have" recur throughout the book, as Lal attempts to reconstruct Gulbadan's emotions and experiences. Often this seems to stretch the lim......more

Goodreads review by Max on June 12, 2024

Is it masturbatory pseudo-history or just unimaginative, gynocentric fiction? You decide!......more

Goodreads review by Nadia on October 30, 2024

This is the story of Princess Gulbadan, daughter of Emperor Babur (the very guy who founded the Mughal Empire), and the only known female historian of her time. At 52, Princess Gulbadan boldly defied her nephew, Emperor Akbar, to lead a group of 11 women on a daring Hajj pilgrimage across the Indian......more

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