Victoria & Abdul: The True Story Of The Queen’s Closest Confidante

In Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of The Queen’s Closest Confidante, Shrabani Basu uncovers the secrets and intrigue behind the mysterious and neglected relationship between Queen Victoria and her Indian Secretary Abdul Karim. She will offer a unique insight into the elderly Queen’s daily life, court, and the changing Empire over which she ruled, making use of previously untranslated Hindustani journals and unpublished records.

The tall, handsome Karim was just 24-years-old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Within a year he was established as a powerful figure in the Royal Court. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish ghillie, four years earlier, Victoria had at last found his replacement. But this intense and controversial relationship led to a near revolt in the Royal Household. Victoria and Abdul examines how a Muslim man came to play a central role at the heart of the Empire, and his influence over the Queen at a time when Indian Independence movements were growing in force. Yet at its heart, Victoria & Abdul will be a tender love story between an ordinary Indian and his elderly Queen, a relationship that survived the best attempts to destroy it.

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