“Rebel Queen” by Michelle Moran – A Queen's Duty

Digging through history's archives feels like going through a never-ending gold mine, one where you are always liable to uncover some hidden gem with the next swing of the pickaxe.

The people whose stories are worth telling were countless, and there are some who take it upon themselves to shine the spotlight on the lesser-known periods and exploits in history.

It seems Michelle Moran is one of those people, being renowned for her ability to deliver thrilling accounts of historical fiction on the more forgotten subjects out there without sacrificing accuracy or fidelity.

In Rebel Queen she is at it again, transporting us to the time of Queen Lakshmi, a person many describe as being India's Joan of Arc. In the mid-nineteenth century the British Empire, being the insatiable devourer it was, turned its sights to India, which was meant to be a rather easy conquest, being splintered into numerous kingdoms always at odds with one another.

Their rulers divided, India was meant to be stomped under the boot of Imperial British might. However, fate had something else in mind for them as they arrived in the Kingdom of Jhansi. Rather than being welcomed with white flags they found themselves facing down two armies, one of men and the other of women, raised by the Queen Lakshmi. And from there on out a horrendous war ensued, one in which the Queen would not back down and relinquish her land to the enemy.

At first sight Rebel Queen may sound like it's a bit of a history book, but rest assured that Michelle Moran really does take care of the entertainment factor. The whole thing is narrated from a first-person perspective, that of Sita, the Queen's favorite companion as well as the most revered soldier in the all-women army.

The fact that we are given a perspective from which to view these events from already cramps up the immersible factor, attaching thoughts, feelings, concerns, ideas and emotions to the things taking place, rather than having them enumerated as if they were facts.

We really are made to feel the stakes of that forgotten war, one that showed beyond doubt the resolution and will displayed by countless women throughout history to fight their way through a world dominated by men.

On that same note, the book doesn't devolve into sentimentalism or overly-long exposures that vainly seek to make it all more poetic and majestic. Moran knows exactly what the reader wants in this case, and she does all she can to deliver a balanced mixture of descriptions, character development and historical information.

In other words, it reads like a rather realistic piece of fiction set in our world, with the sole difference being that it actually took place.

In the end, Rebel Queen is the perfect example on how historical fiction ought to be written. It's memoir style is nothing short of engaging, the narration keeps you emotionally involved, and despite the minor (and acknowledged) changes the author made, the historical accuracy remains more than good enough to teach you a thing or two.

It seems that India's history is one that is criminally under-explored in Western literature, one that contains countless stories that can inspire us in awe, and if you are looking for one of them, you would do rather well to start with this book.

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Michelle Moran Personal site Michelle Moran is a novelist of American origin who was at it from when she was twelve years of age. She majored at the Pomona College in literature as well as an MA from the Claremont Graduate University. Her experiences on archeological sites inspired her to write historical fiction, with some of her more recognized works including Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen and Cleopatra's Daughter.