Meanwhile, I read another Perveen Mistry book called The Bombay Prince, about a college girl's mysterious murder which happened while everyone was distracted by a parade for the Prince of Wales. (This is set during the 1921 royal tour of India.) Edward was meant to placate and thank officials in India for aiding Britain during the Great War, but instead his royal visit brought boycotts and protests from the Indian independence movement. Gandhi called for a strike (hartal) against the British, but unfortunately some mobs started riots in Bombay. Gandhi certainly did not support this violence, calling off the hartal and going on a hunger strike for peace. In the book, many of the people being attacked are Parsi, and so is the murder victim, so there's some question about whether the murder was part of the political unrest. Perveen herself is Parsi too, so we view the violence, fear, and mourning from the Parsi point of view. We see how her family is coping too. I do like Perveen's father supporting her career as a lawyer, even boasting that he might make her a partner in the law firm.
Also, Perveen's love interest Colin Sandringham from the previous book visits Bombay, which is awkward since her family wouldn't approve of a romance. Colin coincidentally went to school with the Prince, so he's invited to attend some royal events with him. I'm not sure I like this part of the story, but it serves to give Colin access to information relevant to solving the murder. Also, Colin comments on Edward's current love for a married woman (she's a few mistresses before Wallis Simpson) and how he relates due to his love for Perveen (who is married but estranged from her abusive husband). It's interesting to get a fictional point of view on historical events, though I don't like viewing young Edward sympathetically. This is still the guy that 15 years later will abdicate, then tour Nazi Germany with his wife, after all. On the other hand, in 1921, Edward was still generally a charming, handsome royal celebrity, so some people back then would have liked and sympathized with him.
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