First of all, The Englishman’s Cameo (or, as Hachette and I refer to it, TEC) has been long-listed for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in the Fiction Category. All right, nomination and long-listing seems to be synonymous this year, but still. The competition’s very stiff; there are 72 other books in the running, with entries from both stalwarts as well as new authors. TEC needs all the luck and good wishes it can get (not to mention votes).

Secondly, a bit of good news for those who live in the UK and have been waiting to lay their hands on the book: Little, Brown will release TEC in UK stores in October 2010. The book’s already been featured on the UK-based book site Curious Book Fans and by the time the book’s on the shelves in the UK, you can hope for more: a review, an interview, etc.

Lastly, something that’s really not that much in the way of literary recognition, but hey, so what. The Indian National Parliament Library purchased The Englishman’s Cameo in February 2010. And Arti Jain of Friends of Books assures me that ‘they’re very discerning’. So I take that as a pat on the back!

This is what the blurb on the back cover reads:

1656, en Inde sous le règne Shah Jahan.

Un ouvrier bijoutier est injustement accuse du meurtre de Murad Begh, notable de la ville. Heureusement pour lui, il compte parmi ses amis le jeune Muzaffar, un noble un peu excentrique qui a pour fâcheuse habitude de n’en faire qu’à sa tête.
Pour sauver son ami, Muzaffar se lance à corps perdu dans la quête du veritable muertrier.
A force de prendre au sérieux sa nouvelle vocation de detective, il se retrouve malgré lui au cœur d’une aventure qui l’emmènera bien loin de son quotidian sans surprises et lui fera découvrier ce qui se trame derrière les murs du fort de Dilli, dans les salons des courtisanes et sous les dorures du palais imperial.

Corruption, trahison, meurtres et manigances sont monnaie courante dans l’empire mohol. Et Muzaffar va l’apprendre à ses dépens.

The book’s available in bookstores across France. You can also buy it online at:

Bibliosurf
Amazon Canada
Mollat
Frnac
Alapage

Happy reading!

Here’s what it’s about:
“Muzaffar Jang is that rare creature in Mughal Emperor Shahjahan’s Dilli – an aristocrat with friends in low places. One of whom, Faisal, stands accused of murder. When the body of Mirza Murad Begh is found stabbed in the chest, lying in a water channel in the Qila, poor Faisal is the only one around. But what of the fact that, right before his demise, the victim had stepped out of the haveli of Shahjahanabad’s most ravishing courtesan? Could not the sultry Mehtab Banu, and her pale, delicate sister Gulnar have something to do with the murder? Determined to save his friend, Muzaffar decides to investigate, with only a cup now and then of that new-fangled brew – Allah, so bitter – called coffee to help him…”

The Englishman’s Cameo was launched in New Delhi on October 7, 2009, followed by launches in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. More book events at other cities such as Gurgaon, Pune and Lucknow are planned tentatively for February 2010.

Some reviews:

Pradeep Sebastian, Business World:
“…Set in Mughal India, the plot swiftly unfolds a little over 250 pages (a nice size for a mystery) through dialogue that is nimble and revealing. Its intimate picture of life in Emperor Shahjanhan’s Dilli resembles a delicate Mughal miniature. Liddle’s Muzaffar Jang is a likeable hero, and she surrounds him with several sympathetic characters that one hopes will keep turning up if The Englishman’s Cameo becomes the first of a series featuring the young, maverick omrah detective…” Read more

Shakti Swaminathan, The Hindu:
“…The writing style is vivid and descriptive. The Red Fort, bustling market places, moon lit Yamuna and the traditional palanquins; the symbolic imagery of yesteryear Mughal court erupt alive. With the young and hot-blooded Muzaffar Jang following the trail to help his friend from being executed we have an Agatha Christie style plot in hand. The book is quick read, being just over 270 pages. The story finishes before one feels the toll of an overdose of history…” Read more

Zac O’Yeah, Deccan Herald:
“…The Englishman’s Cameo is a genuinely promising debut. Its originality and freshness is its strongest point, and — after the dramatic resolution — one shuts the book hoping that Madhulika Liddle will continue with her literary project and act as a path-breaker for other history-mystery writers in order to build this fabulous genre’s South Asian avatar.” Read more

Gargi Gupta, The Hindustan Times:
“…The Englishman’s Cameo is a fast-paced yarn written in snappy prose. It also succeeds in evoking the Mughal era through its manners, fashions, jewels and architecture. There’s blood, dead bodies every 50 pages or so, and even a love interest to keep readers hooked…” Read more

Some features and interviews:

Amrita Dutta, Indian Express:
“That is where the murder would have occurred.” We are at the Hayat Baksh Bagh inside the Red Fort, now a shrunken memory of the beautiful imperial garden it once was. Eyes follow author Madhulika Liddle’s finger beyond the fringe of the garden to a spot about a hundred metres away. We hungrily imagined the thrust of the dagger, the muffled cry, the body soaked in blood. We are near the scene of the first murder in the 37-year-old author’s debut novel, The Englishman’s Cameo, a whodunnit set in 17th-century Shahjahanabad…” Read more

Rrishi Raote, Business Standard:
“…In Muzaffar Jang, first-time novelist (but award-winning short-story writer) Madhulika Liddle has invented a new kind of character for Indian historical fiction — the amateur detective. Muzaffar follows in an old tradition, as Liddle reveals when she describes her reading tastes. He is a maverick in Shahjahan’s capital: an aristocrat with friends in low places. When one lowly friend is wrongly accused of the murder of a wealthy tax inspector in the Lal Qila, Muzaffar swings into action and puts himself in harm’s way…” Read more

Rahul Jayaram, Open:
“…Readers, watch your footstep. In the intriguing confines of medieval Delhi, there’s blood and gore afoot. There’s conspiracy in the air so thick it can be cut with a knife. The blood-stained body of one Mirza Murad Begh has been fished out and a bechara low-life has been accused of murder.” Read more

Avtar Singh, Time Out Delhi:
“…Historical mysteries are a huge genre abroad. Did you see an opportunity here? Muzaffar Jang (the detective protagonist) is someone we’d all like to see again…
Yes, Muzaffar was created because I saw that historical detectives were a dime a dozen abroad: there are Irish and Russian nuns, Roman and Egyptian investigators, a medieval Chinese magistrate, a Tudor lawyer, a Turkish eunuch, even a Welsh monk out there – but no Indians (or none that I’d come across). I thought it was about time someone used the richness of the Mughal court as a backdrop for a crime novel. And yes, there are more Muzaffar Jang works in the pipeline: short stories as well as novels…” Read more

The Englishman’s Cameo is available at all leading bookstores in India, including chains such as Landmark, Odyssey, Oxfordbookstore and Om Bookshop. Or, buy it online at:

Oxfordbookstore

Landmark

Friends of Books

And do visit the Facebook fan page on which I upload new links to reviews, features and interviews about The Englishman’s Cameo.