Inlate-eighteenth-centuryIndia,thegloryoftheMughalemperorswasfading,andambitiousnewcomersseizedpower,changingthepoliticalmapforever.EnterthelegendaryMaharajahRanjitSingh,whoseSikhEmpirestretchedthroughoutnorthwesternIndiaintoAfghanistanandTibet.PriyaAtwalshinesfreshlightonthislong-lostkingdom,lookingbeyonditsfoundingfathertorestorethequeensandprincestothestoryofthisempire’sspectacularriseandfall.Shebringstolifeaself-maderulingfamily,inventivelyfusingSikh,MughalandEuropeanideasofpower,buteventuallysuccumbingtogenderedfamilypolitics,astheSikhEmpirefelltoitsgreatrivalinthenewIndia:theBritish.RoyalsandRebelsisafascinatingtaleoffamily,royaltyandthefluidityofpower,setinadramaticglobalerawhennewstarsroseandupstartempiresclashed.
