[.ca] Beneath a Marble Sky (ISBN 0929701712)

Historical Fiction at its Finest!:
This historical fiction is about the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal, which was built to honor Mughal Empress Mumtaz Maha. It's the saga of her family and is told by the central character Jahanara, the daughter of the Mughal emperor. It is a story of love, honor, and betrayal. This book is exquisite! Shor's deftly colors each page with breathtaking prose and breaths live into the vivid characters! It tried to read slowly, to savor each word and image, but this book is hard to put down! John Shor's architecture of this book is beautiful and I highly recommend it!

A marvellous story, beautifully told:
Simply stated, this is a beautifully written novel. From the opening sentence to the last page, John Shors brings to life the world of contrasts which was the Mughal Empire at the time the Taj Mahal was built. In the process he tells us one of the world's most endearing and enduring love stories. Elegant fiction in an historical setting. John Shors involves the reader from the beginning, and it was almost painful to reach the end. I wanted more. Highly recommended Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A monument to undying love:
A romantic reconstruction of imperial life in 17th century India, "Beneath a Marble Sky" recounts the turbulent story of princess Jahanara, the daughter of the emperor who commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal as a fabulous testament to the overwhelming love of his wife. Well educated, literate, a wily diplomat, savvy political advisor and a bright, witty conversationalist and companion at a time when Muslim women were held in particularly low esteem, Jahanara has been well taught by her mother who bequeathed the solemn responsibility for the care of her ailing father to Jahanara on her death bed. Now an elderly woman herself, the story is told in the form of a flashback narrated from Jahanara's point of view as she relates the fascinating, complex, violent and disturbing history of her family to her grand-daughters. Her soft spoken, pacifist eldest brother Dara, the rightful heir to the imperial throne dreams of the day he can see the Muslim community in peaceful co-existence with those professing the majority Hindu faith. In complete contrast, her younger brother, Aurangzeb, is so consumed by jealousy of his brother's position as heir and the deep hatred of Hindus whom he labels godless heretics, that he spends his entire life plotting the coup and the civil war necessary to steal the throne from his father and brother. Jahanara's story, set against the backdrop of the construction of the Taj Mahal also tells of her unrequited impossible love for Isa, architect of the Taj Mahal and a commoner that Jahanara can never marry and the exquisite pain of her arranged, political marriage to Khondamir, an ugly, evil, conniving merchant with some very sleazy, distasteful sexual proclivities. "Beneath a Marble Sky" is many things for many readers - an accomplished historical fiction with lots of savory details for time and place; a compelling political page-turner loaded with intrigue, violence, passion and pathos; as well as a powerful moving romance that tells of three distinctly different but heart-warming relationships that come to fruition in ways that will draw a sigh and a smile from even the most romance-phobic male readers. My taste in historical fiction would have enjoyed more time spent on the context of the story - more background, for example, as to the religious tensions that were so central to the story and perhaps a little more detail describing the common man's daily life in a setting which to us is so completely exotic and foreign. But, to his credit, Shors did not overstate his case or overstay his welcome by producing a needlessly padded heavyweight door-stopper which, sadly, is often the case with contemporary historical fiction authors. Highly recommended. Paul Weiss

Great Read!:
A great read..especially after reading The Feast of Roses. It gives you a completely different view of Prince Khurram..later known as Emperor Shah Jahan. A real love story letting us know about the true love of Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand). In the Feast of Roses you see Arjumand as deceitful however in this book you see her as a powerful women of the harem. I have mixed feelings about what really happened and whose view is correct however seeing the Taj Mahal personally and also the Red Fort it really brought everything together for me. I went 5 years ago with my family to visit these great sites and at the time I could not have cared too much but knowing what I know now b/c of this book I must say it is truly magnificant! The way they built the Taj Mahal is just mind blowing. Two things about the book that I was diappointed to learn AFTER I read the book was that 2 main parts are fictional in this book. One being that Princess Jahanara was never married, and the other that there was no love affair in real life with Isa. To find that fictional was really disheartening however I guess without that there wasn't much of a story.

5 blue ribbon Romance Junkies review:
Most people who have had the pleasure of journeying to see the Taj Mahal marvel in awe at the majestic mausoleum. Even those of us who've only seen this beautiful building in pictures are struck by the sheer emotion we feel. The love that the emperor had for his beloved wife can easily be felt just by viewing his tribute and her final resting place. Such beauty often has an intriguing story behind it. By telling the story from the point of view of the emperor and his beloved wife's daughter, Princess Jahanara, John Shores allows us to step back in time and experience life as it might have been. Princess Jahanara learns of politics, love and gentleness at her mother's side. She longs for the kind of love that is so obvious with her parents, but knows that her marriage will be for political reasons and not based on any true feelings. As she grows up, Jahanara takes note of her brothers' personalities and the sheer ruthlessness that is so prevalent in Aurangzeb that it terrifies her. Dara is next in line for the throne but there's no doubt in Jahanara's mind that Aurangzeb will commit murder to take his place. At the age of sixteen, Princess Jahanara is wed to a man whom she will come to hate, an emotion she'd never felt before entering into marriage. His cruelty and disrespect are felt by everyone around them but Jahanara is wise beyond her years and uses her mother's teachings to help her endure her fate. Since her parents and siblings left on campaign right after her nuptials Jahanara feels very alone until their return. Upon their return, Jahanara is delighted at seeing her mother and it's decided that Jahanara will be present when her mother gives birth. Jahanara is overjoyed at the opportunity to be present for the blessed event. Only when the time comes, it quickly becomes obvious something is very wrong. The baby is breech and the empress is losing far too much blood. The physician cannot stop the bleeding and Jahanara and her father have only moments with her as she fades quickly from their lives. One of her final wishes is that her husband find love again. He refuses so she asks that he build her something beautiful and visit her tomb on the anniversary of her death. The emperor commissions an architect to begin work on a grand mausoleum. Jahanara is to help Ustad Isa and communicate with her father about the building's progress, this means being away from her husband in order to be near the building site. Unexpectedly, she finds the love of her life in Isa, but she's already married. Jahanara would never bring dishonor on her father by cheating on her husband. John Shors BENEATH A MARBLE SKY is a jewel of a story which will touch readers hearts and imagination. I was completely caught off guard by the raw emotions I felt just reading about the Emperor's family and all the love, devotion and years that went into the building of the Taj Mahal. Princess Jahanara is an amazing young woman with an extraordinary amount of bravery. Her tale is just as poignant and inspiring as her parents, which we already know withstood the test of time and is still standing for the world to see. I highly recommend this book, I know I'll certainly be making room for my copy on the keeper shelf. Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)