Writing historical fiction requires huge amounts of research and the ability to conjure up a bygone era for the reader. Madhulika Liddle’s series of books featuring a nobleman-turned-reluctant detective, Muzaffar Jang, set in the seventeen century Mughal era are such gems, because she gets the period details down so brilliantly. Thrillers today are fast-paced, violent, full of guns and gizmos. Back then—like Sherlock Holmes mysteries—all Jang had was his powers of observation and deduction, the ability to see minute clues that others miss.
The crimes in Liddle’s latest Muzaffar Jang book, Crimson City, are the same as today—kidnapping, murder—but to solve them without the benefits of forensic science requires skill. More than the whodunit, what is so fascinating about these books are the descriptions of old Dilli, the clothes worn by the various characters, the food they eat, their manners and mores. She even includes scenes gently criticizing religious intolerance (Hindu households not serving food to Muslims).
Crimson City is set in of 1657 in the times of Emperor Aurangzeb. There is war in the Deccan, which causes a touch of turmoil in the bazaars of Delhi. A cloth merchant is found murdered in his place of work. Jang’s brother-in-law, the Kotwal of Dilli, forbids him from interfering in police work, which strains their friendship somewhat. Other crimes are committed, a money lender’s son is kidnapped; a rich man is found dead in a hamaam (bathhouse).
Jang may be of noble lineage, but he has no qualms getting his hands dirty; he dons disguises to question the servants, and where he can’t reach, his lovely and intrepid wife Shireen goes in and extracts information from the zenanas. One will wait for the next Muzaffar Jang mystery!
Crimson City
By Madhulika Liddle
Publisher: Hachette India
Pages: 328.
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