What do you think?
Rate this book
In Search of Amrit Kaur
On a sweltering day in 2007, Italian writer Livia Manera Sambuy encounters a photograph of Princess Amrit Kaur in a Mumbai museum. The picture is arresting, gorgeous - but the caption will change Livia's life forever. It claims that the Punjabi princess sold her jewels in occupied Paris to save Jewish lives, only to be arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp where she died within a year.It's a sensational story - and for Livia, the beginning of a compulsive search for the truth as she delves into the history of the British Raj, the diamonds and sapphires of the twentieth-century aristocracy, and the lives of extraordinary bankers, jewellers, explorers and spies. Past and present converge when Livia travels to meet Bubbles, the princess's daughter, now in her eighties. Striving to reconnect Bubbles with the elusive woman who abandoned her in 1933, Livia unearths a strange and complicated family history; one that diverges unexpectedly from the story that she set out to uncover.Filled with glamour and terror, beauty and sorrow, In Search of Amrit Kaur is an engrossing detective story, a kaleidoscopic history lesson, and a moving portrait of mothers, lovers and daughters across the century, seeking personal freedom.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2023
43 people are currently reading
735 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
April 3, 2023
Livia Manera, starting with a mysterious photograph and a wall label, launched on a voyage of discovery in search of an Indian princess who appeared to have died in a Nazi concentration camp. She discovered things far stranger and more interesting than what she thought she was looking for and the story of that journey is “In Search of Amrit Kaur.” In the process, she brings to life the lost world of India’s princely states, which vanished with Indian independence and its brutal partition. If you approach this as a biography of Amrit Kaur you may be disappointed but if you read this as the story of a search it takes you on a fascinating journey.
March 31, 2025
poignant story of a lost princess and early feminist
Although this book was part of my research for my next novel it held enormous fascination. The interwoven investigative and historical passages are painful and engrossing. Add to this the emotional layer: parallel stories of two daughters estranged from their mothers, and the ways we come to terms with the tears in our hearts.
Although this book was part of my research for my next novel it held enormous fascination. The interwoven investigative and historical passages are painful and engrossing. Add to this the emotional layer: parallel stories of two daughters estranged from their mothers, and the ways we come to terms with the tears in our hearts.
September 2, 2023
interesting book about a forgotten part of Indian history
2023
October 15, 2025Non-fiction November TBR
Women in Translation TBR
Women's History Month TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Women in Translation TBR
Women's History Month TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux
March 20, 2023
The blurb of the book sounded interesting - the quest to find out who Amrit Kaur really was. After seeing a photo of the princess in a Mumbai museum, the author, an Italian journalist, is intrigued. Rumors swirl around this mysterious princess: she left her husband and children for Europe; she sold her jewelry in Paris to help Jews escape the Nazis during World War II; she was subsequently imprisoned and died. The author embarks on a research project, which becomes her personal mission and takes her across three continents. But it seems to me that her research ended up being more about the historical times, people related to Amrit who didn’t know much or whose facts were speculative or unreliable, people tangentially linked to Amrit, and more along these lines. Not because the author didn’t conduct massive research, on the contrary. It appears there wasn’t much information for the author on which to base an entire book. I’d say maybe a quarter of the book is about the elusive Amrit Kaur and the rest is about other people, historical events, and other information. I found it interesting that the author states that Amrit Kaur’s husband Raja Joginder Sen “likely had the power” to grant the Dalai Lama asylum in India (based on what his son shared with her) since Sen had been a member of parliament during 1957-1962. I’m not sure when Indian MPs had the power to do so - it was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who granted the Dalai Lama asylum in India. The author also refers to Lakshman as Rama’s stepbrother in the Indian epic - the Mahabharata. Lakshman was Rama’s half brother - there is a difference…So all in all, while the book had an intriguing premise, and it certainly was challenging digging through tons of leads to find out more about Amrit Kaur and her maybe lifestyle (no spoilers!) - I commend the author for all her work - alas there wasn’t much factual information on Amrit herself to go on for a more that 300-page book about the main character. I rated the book a 2.5 rounded up to 3 for this reason. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
June 2, 2024
Didn’t finish! Maybe she wasn’t the best person to write this book?! For me it’s the factual errors that clinched it. Churidar is not a tunic. Randi is not a widow. “Bengalese” is Italian.
March 19, 2023
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for accepting my request to read and review In Search of Amrit Kaur.
Published: 03/14/23
I have a love/hate relationship with biographies and memoirs. My clue that I didn't put enough weight on was "Search." There were more times while reading than not where I wanted the Cliff Notes. I thought for numerous pages I was back in college and needed an outline with a flow chart.
I picked up this book expecting a story to unfold. And in reality, the story was told but read like a foreign language to me. I had no knowledge of the area, the Royal standards, the culture or the time period of that region. Some of the personal relationships or chats were endearing and mostly I found the book sad and cruel. I was exhausted when I finished and still perplexed by her life.
Three stars, my standard. FYI: If I didn't already have access to more books than I can read in my lifetime, I would like to read this again at a later date. I would get more out of it.
Published: 03/14/23
I have a love/hate relationship with biographies and memoirs. My clue that I didn't put enough weight on was "Search." There were more times while reading than not where I wanted the Cliff Notes. I thought for numerous pages I was back in college and needed an outline with a flow chart.
I picked up this book expecting a story to unfold. And in reality, the story was told but read like a foreign language to me. I had no knowledge of the area, the Royal standards, the culture or the time period of that region. Some of the personal relationships or chats were endearing and mostly I found the book sad and cruel. I was exhausted when I finished and still perplexed by her life.
Three stars, my standard. FYI: If I didn't already have access to more books than I can read in my lifetime, I would like to read this again at a later date. I would get more out of it.
March 14, 2023
This is less the story of Amrit Kaur, a princess of colonial-era India, than the story of author Livia Manera Sambuy’s wide-ranging efforts to learn about Amrit-- and in particular, why the princess was arrested in Nazi-occupied Paris, supposedly for selling her jewelry to aid Jewish refugees.
In the end, Manera Sambuy – a veteran Italian literary journalist – doesn’t definitively answer her original question. But her decade-long quest is fascinating, as she travels back and forth from France to India to California, interviewing a score of sources including Amrit’s 80-year-old long-abandoned daughter, a scion of one of the world’s great jewelry houses, and a retired topless dancer, among others. The narrative, translated by Todd Portnowitz, reads as easily as a good novel, with vivid descriptions.
Amrit Kaur was born in 1904, the daughter of an immensely wealthy albeit minor maharaja in a tiny corner of Colonial India, and his fourth wife. Educated in a British boarding school, she was abruptly yanked out of her cosmopolitan world and whisked back to an even more remote part of India for an arranged marriage. During those years, Amrit briefly managed to establish a reputation as a campaigner for women’s rights.
Then, in 1934, three years after her husband had taken a second wife, Amrit abruptly ran off to Paris, abandoning her two children.
As Manera Sambuy learns, Amrit was in fact arrested in Paris in December 1940, but it was part of a Nazi roundup of British subjects, not in retaliation for helping Jews. Along with some 4,000 other prisoners, Amrit was sent to a detention camp in a former Army barracks in the French town of Besancon, where she lived in filth and starvation for six months. Manera Sambuy apparently was never able to definitively ascertain how Amrit got released from that camp, though it’s a safe assumption that her family’s powerful connections played a role. Her health wrecked, Amrit died in 1948.
Another unsolved mystery involves the fate of Amrit’s treasure trove of jewels, which included “an extravagantly beautiful Art Deco necklace, with several diamonds and an enormous sixteen-carat sapphire; a Cartier ring with an emerald-cut nine-carat diamond, flanked by two pentagonal diamonds; another diamond ring with a sixteen-carat rectangular diamond; and several diamond and sapphire bracelets.” Did Amrit sell the baubles? Did the proceeds help Jewish refugees? Was she forced to leave them behind in India? Still, even if the author doesn’t line up all the pieces, she succeeds in uncovering other secrets about Amrit’s missing years.
And the research she undertakes to achieve this result is truly impressive. She pores through jewelry auction catalogs and the Paris Police Prefecture archives; flies off to India for a hostile dinner party, then to San Diego to inspect Amrit’s long-lost briefcase. She even drives up a winding, exhaust-choked mountain road to see a small chalet where Amrit had briefly lived during her pregnancies.
Unfortunately, Manera Sambuy has padded her book with elaborate digressions into the architecture of Paris, British Colonial history, other Indian maharajas’ extravagance, pearl-diving, and more. While some of this is genuinely useful in putting Amrit’s life into context, it’s more than a reader needs (though fun to read). (Adapted from my review in The New York Journal of Books. https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...)
In the end, Manera Sambuy – a veteran Italian literary journalist – doesn’t definitively answer her original question. But her decade-long quest is fascinating, as she travels back and forth from France to India to California, interviewing a score of sources including Amrit’s 80-year-old long-abandoned daughter, a scion of one of the world’s great jewelry houses, and a retired topless dancer, among others. The narrative, translated by Todd Portnowitz, reads as easily as a good novel, with vivid descriptions.
Amrit Kaur was born in 1904, the daughter of an immensely wealthy albeit minor maharaja in a tiny corner of Colonial India, and his fourth wife. Educated in a British boarding school, she was abruptly yanked out of her cosmopolitan world and whisked back to an even more remote part of India for an arranged marriage. During those years, Amrit briefly managed to establish a reputation as a campaigner for women’s rights.
Then, in 1934, three years after her husband had taken a second wife, Amrit abruptly ran off to Paris, abandoning her two children.
As Manera Sambuy learns, Amrit was in fact arrested in Paris in December 1940, but it was part of a Nazi roundup of British subjects, not in retaliation for helping Jews. Along with some 4,000 other prisoners, Amrit was sent to a detention camp in a former Army barracks in the French town of Besancon, where she lived in filth and starvation for six months. Manera Sambuy apparently was never able to definitively ascertain how Amrit got released from that camp, though it’s a safe assumption that her family’s powerful connections played a role. Her health wrecked, Amrit died in 1948.
Another unsolved mystery involves the fate of Amrit’s treasure trove of jewels, which included “an extravagantly beautiful Art Deco necklace, with several diamonds and an enormous sixteen-carat sapphire; a Cartier ring with an emerald-cut nine-carat diamond, flanked by two pentagonal diamonds; another diamond ring with a sixteen-carat rectangular diamond; and several diamond and sapphire bracelets.” Did Amrit sell the baubles? Did the proceeds help Jewish refugees? Was she forced to leave them behind in India? Still, even if the author doesn’t line up all the pieces, she succeeds in uncovering other secrets about Amrit’s missing years.
And the research she undertakes to achieve this result is truly impressive. She pores through jewelry auction catalogs and the Paris Police Prefecture archives; flies off to India for a hostile dinner party, then to San Diego to inspect Amrit’s long-lost briefcase. She even drives up a winding, exhaust-choked mountain road to see a small chalet where Amrit had briefly lived during her pregnancies.
Unfortunately, Manera Sambuy has padded her book with elaborate digressions into the architecture of Paris, British Colonial history, other Indian maharajas’ extravagance, pearl-diving, and more. While some of this is genuinely useful in putting Amrit’s life into context, it’s more than a reader needs (though fun to read). (Adapted from my review in The New York Journal of Books. https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...)
July 10, 2023
My favorite book of the year. As a disclaimer, In Search of Amrit Kaur really is about the search for Amrit Kaur, as little is known about Amrit Kaur herself. But even with the limited information we have, it is an amazing story and I was impressed and inspired by the author’s research!
When the book begins, the author is fixated on a portrait of Amrit Kaur, the deceased Maharani of Mandi, who was sent to a concentration camp in France for the crime of selling her jewels to help the Jews in World War II. The author, intrigued by the story and full of questions, seeks to discover what really happened to the Maharani before, during, and after the war.
The ensuing adventure, a tale of forbidden love, long-lost treasure, and political scandal, traverses three continents, and has the potential to bring closure to a now-elderly Indian Princess who never knew why her mother abandoned her. Some reviewers complain that there is not enough focus on Amrit Kaur, the individual, but I love the way the author contextualizes the history of the British Raj, the Nazi occupation of Paris, and the fight for women’s rights in India. I had not known that there were concentration camps in France, or that the combination of the Nazi regime and Partition led to the widespread loss of historic jewels as well as people.
Even though some mysteries are left unsolved, Livia Manera Sambuy ties everything together in a touching and satisfying epilogue. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in France or India (or princesses) during World War II. I cannot overstate the author’s craftsmanship in creating an entertaining and meaningful narrative from an otherwise tragic story.
When the book begins, the author is fixated on a portrait of Amrit Kaur, the deceased Maharani of Mandi, who was sent to a concentration camp in France for the crime of selling her jewels to help the Jews in World War II. The author, intrigued by the story and full of questions, seeks to discover what really happened to the Maharani before, during, and after the war.
The ensuing adventure, a tale of forbidden love, long-lost treasure, and political scandal, traverses three continents, and has the potential to bring closure to a now-elderly Indian Princess who never knew why her mother abandoned her. Some reviewers complain that there is not enough focus on Amrit Kaur, the individual, but I love the way the author contextualizes the history of the British Raj, the Nazi occupation of Paris, and the fight for women’s rights in India. I had not known that there were concentration camps in France, or that the combination of the Nazi regime and Partition led to the widespread loss of historic jewels as well as people.
Even though some mysteries are left unsolved, Livia Manera Sambuy ties everything together in a touching and satisfying epilogue. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in France or India (or princesses) during World War II. I cannot overstate the author’s craftsmanship in creating an entertaining and meaningful narrative from an otherwise tragic story.
December 7, 2023
It was an odd experience of reading this story.
A journalist finds a picture of Indian woman, learning bits of her life, the author starts to follow small facts/trials to learn more about the daughter of one of the last Raji.
At times, the story doesn't seem like a polished complete piece, the author narrates her attempt following the trail even when such attempts don't results in any tangible facts. There's a real sense of mystery, curiosity to another human-being lived in another time. The start and end of the book, the author shares something personal, perhaps a way to explain why the author was attracted to the topic of Amrit Kaur. The mix of personal events and pursuit of historical figure leaves odd feeling, but also link/remind that Amrit Kaur as an ordinary person who struggled with her own.
Took a while to finish the book but enjoyed it overall.
A journalist finds a picture of Indian woman, learning bits of her life, the author starts to follow small facts/trials to learn more about the daughter of one of the last Raji.
At times, the story doesn't seem like a polished complete piece, the author narrates her attempt following the trail even when such attempts don't results in any tangible facts. There's a real sense of mystery, curiosity to another human-being lived in another time. The start and end of the book, the author shares something personal, perhaps a way to explain why the author was attracted to the topic of Amrit Kaur. The mix of personal events and pursuit of historical figure leaves odd feeling, but also link/remind that Amrit Kaur as an ordinary person who struggled with her own.
Took a while to finish the book but enjoyed it overall.
April 20, 2023
Questo libro di Livia Manera Sambuy è più che appassionante e ha un’immediata qualità: il livello della scrittura, del racconto. O meglio, di una serie di racconti che si attraggono come parti di un’indagine fra le più impervie e apparentemente senza uscita. Il centro, la ‘ragione sociale’ di tutto, coincide con la vita drammatica e coraggiosa di una principessa sikh del secolo scorso: non le manca niente, la bellezza, i gioielli, l’istruzione europea, l’abitudine a Parigi, ma soprattutto l’intelligenza e l’essere fuori norma. Ogni norma, indiana, di casta, o occidentale. Il titolo del libro parla di un segreto che chi legge avrà l’avventura di scoprire. L’insieme ha una punta di diamante, una specie di Koh-I-Noor psicologico: il richiamo che le ferite esistenziali di Amrit Kur –il nome della principessa - esercitano sulla vita dell’autrice e sui suoi passaggi più laceranti. Livia mette in gioco se stessa scoprendo le tracce della sua alter ego, si espone ed espone una serie di cose su cui riflettere, che riguardano o hanno già coinvolto molti di noi. In sintesi: quanto si possa essere disarmati di fronte alla violenza della Storia e al suo incrocio con le fratture delle vite private. Quanto le fiabe, che ci appassionino o meno, contengano quasi sempre un risvolto scuro, al di là della seduzione che ci ispirano, in quanto fiabe. Quanto la storia da cui proveniamo -il Ventesimo secolo, con le sue belle epoche e le sue infamie- abbia prodotto biografie fuori dall’ordinario e variamente segrete. Nel suo libro-indagine-affresco, Livia ne rivela moltissime, e nel farlo si rivela con un’immediata e rara intensità.
March 29, 2023
Thelma & Louise, but with Nazis and a lot of bespoke jewelry. Amrit Kaur grabbed a few years of happiness between doing her duty in an arranged marriage and trying to survive the Besancon detention camp and occupied Paris. I didn't get a strong sense of Amrit Kaur herself, but the author very much brings her world to life. The digressions were fascinating.
--Russian mystics and German scientist-adventurers in the Himalayan hill country . . .
--A Jewish family from the north Caucasus creating a Paris-based monopoly on natural pearls off the coasts of Venezuela and Bahrain, harvested by enslaved and semi-enslaved Black and indigenous people . . .
--A Black domestic worker in San Diego handing over a mysterious briefcase that eventually ends up in the hands of a white topless dancer who was so inspired by what she found that she got a university degree in archival work . . .
--And the expected cast of characters from the princely states of pre-independence India & Pakistan, buying jewelry, posing for the top photographers of the day, throwing parties, and crashing their cars all over Paris.
A more literary style than this sort of book--about a long research project--usually has.
--Russian mystics and German scientist-adventurers in the Himalayan hill country . . .
--A Jewish family from the north Caucasus creating a Paris-based monopoly on natural pearls off the coasts of Venezuela and Bahrain, harvested by enslaved and semi-enslaved Black and indigenous people . . .
--A Black domestic worker in San Diego handing over a mysterious briefcase that eventually ends up in the hands of a white topless dancer who was so inspired by what she found that she got a university degree in archival work . . .
--And the expected cast of characters from the princely states of pre-independence India & Pakistan, buying jewelry, posing for the top photographers of the day, throwing parties, and crashing their cars all over Paris.
A more literary style than this sort of book--about a long research project--usually has.
April 1, 2023
Il tesoro è un fantasma. La caccia è un percorso lungo 12 anni che l’autrice disegna sulla carta geografica del mondo. Il premio è un libro che racconta la storia di una principessa indiana. Una vita, la sua, (ri)costruita con molti frammenti e altrettante deviazioni che Livia Manera sente il dovere di fare lungo la sua ricerca. Ogni frammento è un’altra storia che si stringe e si rilascia velocemente alla storia principale come un nodo malfatto .
Tutto parte da un ritratto fotografico visto per caso in una mostra a Mumbai. Letteralmente travolta dalla sindrome di Stendhal davanti a questa immagine, l’autrice decide di entrare nella macchina del tempo per restituire ad Amrit Kaur una verità che emerge distillata negli archivi, dai ricordi di chi l’ha conosciuta, da fotografie polverose. Un’indagine condotta con l’istinto dell’investigatore privato e raccontata con bella scrittura. Difficile stendere la trama di un libro così complesso eppure scorrevole. Ingiusto raccontare il finale di un’opera che in molte sue pagine rilascia le emozionanti sospensioni di un giallo.
Vale davvero la pena di leggerlo questo libro. Per conoscere meglio un’epoca, una cultura lontana, le sue regole e soprattutto le sue trasgressioni. Per impossessarsi delicatamente di una vita sino a convincersi di averla condivisa come compagni di viaggio.
Tutto parte da un ritratto fotografico visto per caso in una mostra a Mumbai. Letteralmente travolta dalla sindrome di Stendhal davanti a questa immagine, l’autrice decide di entrare nella macchina del tempo per restituire ad Amrit Kaur una verità che emerge distillata negli archivi, dai ricordi di chi l’ha conosciuta, da fotografie polverose. Un’indagine condotta con l’istinto dell’investigatore privato e raccontata con bella scrittura. Difficile stendere la trama di un libro così complesso eppure scorrevole. Ingiusto raccontare il finale di un’opera che in molte sue pagine rilascia le emozionanti sospensioni di un giallo.
Vale davvero la pena di leggerlo questo libro. Per conoscere meglio un’epoca, una cultura lontana, le sue regole e soprattutto le sue trasgressioni. Per impossessarsi delicatamente di una vita sino a convincersi di averla condivisa come compagni di viaggio.
April 7, 2023
In Search of Amrit Kaur is a cornucopia of riveting, moving stories, backed by impressive research and dauntless travels around the globe. Livia Manera Sambuy, a consummate literary journalist, is on a quest to discover the truth about Amrit Kaur, a princess from the opulent, colonized world of the British Raj, a woman at the mercy of the repressive socio-cultural forces of her time. The author, facing a multitude of obstacles, is a thrilling guide as she takes us through the labyrinth of history, introducing us to one fascinating character after another as the story of Amrit Kaur unfolds in all its complexity. Along the way, Sambuy discovers she is also on a deeply personal journey.
Sambuy’s writing is luminescent, and the command of her material is expert and sure. This is a stunningly wrought book that goes beyond its impressive historiographical reach, delving into the interstices of the mystery and reality of story-finding and story-making, and the ways in which these kinds of endeavors weave into the personal self, the transcendent soul, and the shared sweep of human history.
Sambuy’s writing is luminescent, and the command of her material is expert and sure. This is a stunningly wrought book that goes beyond its impressive historiographical reach, delving into the interstices of the mystery and reality of story-finding and story-making, and the ways in which these kinds of endeavors weave into the personal self, the transcendent soul, and the shared sweep of human history.
March 30, 2023
I guess it should have been more obvious to me from the title, but as other reviews have mentioned, this book is more about the author's personal search to discover Amrit Kaur's history, rather than a history of Amrit Kaur. This means that in addition to the author's findings on Amrit, there are also bits of history from that time period, and tidbits of how the author came to make the discoveries.
The entire process that the author went through to learn about Amrit's life was fascinating, and I especially enjoyed the chapters in which the author meets with Amrit's daughter "Bubbles," as they added a nice personal touch to the investigations. I really appreciated the author's dedication to their investigation.
I do wish there'd been more focus on Amrit's life, rather than the related history and the journey to get that information, but as there's limited information available, this was probably about as thorough of a book on Amrit Kaur as we can get.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
The entire process that the author went through to learn about Amrit's life was fascinating, and I especially enjoyed the chapters in which the author meets with Amrit's daughter "Bubbles," as they added a nice personal touch to the investigations. I really appreciated the author's dedication to their investigation.
I do wish there'd been more focus on Amrit's life, rather than the related history and the journey to get that information, but as there's limited information available, this was probably about as thorough of a book on Amrit Kaur as we can get.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
March 31, 2023
La storia di una Principessa indiana all'inizio del secolo scorso raccontata magistralmente
Il Segreto di Amrit Kaur (Feltrinelli) è un libro bellissimo che racchiude tanti libri e molte storie. E' un romanzo, un saggio, una avvincente inchiesta giornalistica; è la storia di un intero Paese, l'India di cui in fondo sappiamo così poco, e il racconto di una inarrivabile Parigi all'inizio del Novecento. E' la storia di una madre e di una figlia, anzi di due madri e di due figlie, della loro perdita e del loro ritrovarsi in qualche modo. Filo rosso di questa storia di seta e di dolore, un tesoro inestimabile di gioielli perduti, dei quali l'autrice si mette alla ricerca per molti, molti anni, scoprendo molto, molto altro. Scritto da una giornalista che collabora da più di trent'anni con il Corriere della Sera, è già uscito
in Inghilterra e in America. Un libro che vale il viaggio.
Il Segreto di Amrit Kaur (Feltrinelli) è un libro bellissimo che racchiude tanti libri e molte storie. E' un romanzo, un saggio, una avvincente inchiesta giornalistica; è la storia di un intero Paese, l'India di cui in fondo sappiamo così poco, e il racconto di una inarrivabile Parigi all'inizio del Novecento. E' la storia di una madre e di una figlia, anzi di due madri e di due figlie, della loro perdita e del loro ritrovarsi in qualche modo. Filo rosso di questa storia di seta e di dolore, un tesoro inestimabile di gioielli perduti, dei quali l'autrice si mette alla ricerca per molti, molti anni, scoprendo molto, molto altro. Scritto da una giornalista che collabora da più di trent'anni con il Corriere della Sera, è già uscito
in Inghilterra e in America. Un libro che vale il viaggio.
April 2, 2023
No one had ever heard of her .Who could conceive that a Sikh Princess would fight the Nazis and confront the horror of the camps ? Hyperbola and transgression in every way : class defector, feminist, résistante, Amrit Kaur jumps over cultures and times ,gives up the jewelry and the pump of Kapurthala and Mandi to live with a women and die still young far from her birthplace. Livia Manera Sambuy conducts a remarkably documented investigation on three continents - or rather a quest implying adventurous spiciness ,encounters (inspiring an astonishing gallery of portraits) and personal commitment.It's tragicomic, exotic without folklore, romanesque and solid. Amrit Kaur is now a name that will remain. N . T.
January 29, 2025
Thanks for Penguin Random House UK Vintage Influencers for the free copy. As always, this is an honest, voluntary review.
I was so excited after reading the blurb for this. I love hidden history, interesting personalities so this book sounded like something I'd really enjoy. Whilst it could have been interesting and great, I had some problems with focus and even more so the lack of fact checking. I find it a big problem when non fictional books have factual mistakes, not even one or two. And the focus... We learnt so much about Amrit's jewellery and other not so important things while we barely gave it word that she was a queer woman.
I feel this could have been written in a different style or from a different perspective to make it more engaging.
I was so excited after reading the blurb for this. I love hidden history, interesting personalities so this book sounded like something I'd really enjoy. Whilst it could have been interesting and great, I had some problems with focus and even more so the lack of fact checking. I find it a big problem when non fictional books have factual mistakes, not even one or two. And the focus... We learnt so much about Amrit's jewellery and other not so important things while we barely gave it word that she was a queer woman.
I feel this could have been written in a different style or from a different perspective to make it more engaging.
September 27, 2023
Thoroughly researched. Brings awareness of the profiglate lifesyles of the princes during the British Raj. With a purposeless existence, they lived it up in Paris.
The Maharaja of Kapurthala, with his six wives, his lavish lifestyle and extravagant weddings/ parties.
Insight into the turbulent lives of the princes, & the end of the privy purses
In addition to Amrit, there are many more musings the author has researched along the way,the lifestyles in Paris, the jewellers of the day, the inhabitants of the MandiKulu hills, to name a few.
In the end the homosexuslity story. The mystery of her jewels remained to be solved- the involvement of the jewish jewellers, van cleefs & Rosenthals, & the demise of their fortunes & families in WW2, along with involvement with theMaharajas & their jewels around independence.It was all very cloak & dagger.
I'm left puzzled in the end by the bitter 'ugly truth' about the jewels which the author refers to in the end.Also why she felt that connection with Bubbles?
The Maharaja of Kapurthala, with his six wives, his lavish lifestyle and extravagant weddings/ parties.
Insight into the turbulent lives of the princes, & the end of the privy purses
In addition to Amrit, there are many more musings the author has researched along the way,the lifestyles in Paris, the jewellers of the day, the inhabitants of the MandiKulu hills, to name a few.
In the end the homosexuslity story. The mystery of her jewels remained to be solved- the involvement of the jewish jewellers, van cleefs & Rosenthals, & the demise of their fortunes & families in WW2, along with involvement with theMaharajas & their jewels around independence.It was all very cloak & dagger.
I'm left puzzled in the end by the bitter 'ugly truth' about the jewels which the author refers to in the end.Also why she felt that connection with Bubbles?
Read
July 24, 2025I had no idea when i opened this book that it would be chock full of names and events connected to history we thought we knew. what??? It's amazing that all these people knew each other and influenced history around the world, or at least that's what it seems like from reading this. It's head spinning. Douglas Fairbanks to Gertrude Stein??? in what universe? :) And yet the resolution to all of it is like the wars themselves; there really isn't one. None of it solves anything permanently. It just leaves pain and confusion and unanswered questions and lots of gems (real ones) sewn into hems :)
March 13, 2023
A fascinating look at one woman’s life and Sambuy’s quest to uncover her entire story.
I loved all the research, tracking, and tracing the author did. The hunt for information is as fascinating as the information itself.
I also like reading about people I’ve never heard about and Amrit Kaur was totally new for me.
The author goes into a lot of background detail about Indian politics and society before and after 1947 which provided context to the story.
I enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to Farrar Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the advance read.
I loved all the research, tracking, and tracing the author did. The hunt for information is as fascinating as the information itself.
I also like reading about people I’ve never heard about and Amrit Kaur was totally new for me.
The author goes into a lot of background detail about Indian politics and society before and after 1947 which provided context to the story.
I enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to Farrar Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the advance read.
January 27, 2024
Incredible Storia di una principessa indiana, che improvvisamente sparisce dalla circolazione abbandonando i suoi figli piccoli e la ricerca di una giornalista che cerca di scoprire di più su questa donna inseguendola in mezza Europa, Stati Uniti e India per fare felice la figlia di Amrit, Bubbles che non hai mai saputo niente di lei. Un'indagine nella quale siamo coinvolti in prima persona e durante la quale conosciamoci un mondo assurdamente lontano da noi, così distante da sembrare impossibile, così vero da restare senza parole. Perché tutte noi siamo principesse
July 4, 2024
In realtà mi ero avvicinata a questo libro pensando fosse un romanzo..e anche da leggere abbastanza senza impegno. Nulla di più sbagliato! È piuttosto un reportage giornalistico sulle tracce di una principessa indiana, ma principalmente un grande lavoro di raccolta di documentazione su una parte di storia dell'India, che si intreccia con i suoi usi e costumi. Sì, indubbiamente ho dovuto rivalutare la mia idea di "da leggere senza impegno", vista la mole di informazioni che si riceve, ma ne è valsa la pena. Sicuramente interessante come libro.
April 9, 2023
In this utterly fascinating book, the Italian journalist Manera embarks on a journey inspired by an image and its caption. On the way, she painstakingly recreates the glamorous world inhabited by her subject. The author’s research is extensive and impeccable, and we get a glimpse of what Amrit might have been like. Ultimately this is not a biography but an expedition that started with a photograph and ended with a complex portrait of a woman torn between two worlds.
January 4, 2024
There are a lot of people and places in this book. A family tree would certainly have come in handy. The narrative jumped around so much that there were times I wasn't sure if we were in Paris or Russia, India or New York. I'm still not sure what the whole point was--did she sell her jewels or not, and if she did, to what purpose exactly?--but I did enjoy the ride. There were some nice surprises, like ghost stories and running into Nicholas Roerich.
January 8, 2025
I wanted more from this book and this story than what was given. Very slow and difficult read. As a whole it read unfocused and made me question what the point of the narrative was on multiple occasions. Rather than being a story of Amrit Kaur, it was a slow tale of the author’s journey learning about Amrit Kaur, which as a whole felt convoluted.
Overall this felt like a story that benefited Amrit’s family and the author herself, not one that has mass appeal or speaks to the average reader.
Overall this felt like a story that benefited Amrit’s family and the author herself, not one that has mass appeal or speaks to the average reader.
March 31, 2023
I am coming towards the end of the book and shall miss it when I finish. There was me wondering what the author was going to talk about for the last 200 pages and along comes a bombshell! The research done is monumental.
I particularly liked how I as a reader could relate to the author, in her search. Highly enjoyable.
I particularly liked how I as a reader could relate to the author, in her search. Highly enjoyable.
March 31, 2023
Livia Manera has written more than a biography, her book also recounts her quest for information intertwined with her own life. The combination of those elements create a fascinating book, which makes us travel from India to Europe and the United States all through the 20th century. It has been extremely well translated into English
April 4, 2023
A marvelous treasure hunt with many surprises, in search of an elusive figure who spoke profoundly to the author as if from a long-lost realm. The pursuit of the story mysteriously reveals the author's own truths to her along the way, in search of "the other."
This book is not a traditional biography, it's a treasure hunt in search of a character whose identity had been all but erased. Wonderful and filmic. You will go on a journey into a lost world. Must read.
This book is not a traditional biography, it's a treasure hunt in search of a character whose identity had been all but erased. Wonderful and filmic. You will go on a journey into a lost world. Must read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews