A Firestorm in Paradise

Rana Safvi is a prominent and bestselling writer, scholar and translator deeply committed to India’s rich cultural heritage and diverse civilizational legacy. Her repertoire spans a variety of media, including writings (both original and translations), podcasts and videos. Her remarkable portfolio comprises ten books that delve into topics ranging from culture and history to the monuments of India. Notable titles include Tales from the Quran and Hadith; The Delhi Trilogy; A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories; and In Search of The Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India. In addition to her literary contributions, Rana has undertaken the task of translating significant works into English. In particular, she has translated Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s pivotal piece on Delhi, Asar-us Sanadid. Rana’s blog, Ranasafvi.com, serves as a treasure trove of cultural, literary and historical insights.

Before the 1857 Uprising of India, the old Delhi, or Shahjahanabad is sprawling with life—like an ode wavering towards its end. The inhabitants of Red Fort and the splendored world around it, all subjects of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, lived on the cusp of a change with the arrival of the British. Yet, people’s own stories continued against backdrop of this transition.

At the centre of this sprawling narrative is a princess, Falak Ara, daughter of the Emperor. Beautiful and vivacious, Falak Ara is curious about the world outside the fort but never imagines being able to leave. Soon, she loses her heart to a salatin—a prince— and longs for a union with him. Her quest is made difficult by a changing Shahjahanabad, on whose horizon lurks a revolution.

Author Rana Safvi unspools the aches of a young heart as she pays homage to Old Delhi—which, like a living, breathing being, has many moods and survives a lifetime in this novel A Firestorm in Paradise.

RAZA MIR
This is a brilliant debut novel from someone who we have hitherto known as one of India’s foremost narrative historians. A Firestorm in Paradise melds Rana Safvi’s immense knowledge of 19th century Delhi with a storyteller’s distinctive flair to produce a novel that is destined to be regarded as a masterpiece.

IRA MUKHOTY
With her intimate knowledge of the shadowed alleys and sun-blasted courtyards of Delhi and its ‘Lal Qila’, scholar Rana Safvi has brought to life the ephemeral world of that grand old capital of the Mughals at the time of the ‘gadar’ or uprising of 1857.

ANJUM HASAN
"Charm, intrigue, poetry and painstaking period detailing come together in this Mughal romance to create a lively portrait of high life in the twilight years of the empire."