The King by Kader Abdolah

The King

Kader Abdolah

A rip-roaring tour through 19th century Persian/Iranian history for those who do not have the time or the energy to read a more academic account, and prefer to inject a bit of fun into the process of learning. Kader Abdolah works in the tradition of the great Persian stories, such as 'The Thousand and One Nights' and the 'Shahnameh'. And he reserves the right 'to save something for the night that is to come'.

Extract
At first the shah tried to keep the vizier's death hidden from England and Russia. But the British ambassador had received the report of the murder from his spies on the day it took place, and he alerted London. The ambassador saw it as an unfortunate event that was not wholly unexpected. The vizier had been ambitious and had made many enemies. His young advisors had been arrested or had gone into hiding, and the reformers had taken a hard blow.
England was not sorry about the change of power. From now on London could do business with the shah directly.
Parallels
  • The Trade Secret by Robert Newman
  • Balthasar's Odyssey by Amin Maalouf
  • The Siege of Isfahan by Jean Christophe Rufin
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Violence
Explicit sexual content