# The Empress - Paperback

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by **Tanika Gupta** (Author)

Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 1887.

At East London's Tilbury Docks, Rani Das and Abdul Karim step ashore after the long voyage from India. One has to battle a society who deems her a second-class citizen; the other forges an astonishing entanglement with the ageing Queen Victoria who finds herself enchanted by stories of an India over which she rules, but has never seen.

Through narrative, music and song, _The Empress_ blends the true story of Queen Victoria's controversial relationship with her Indian servant and 'Munshi' (teacher), Abdul Karim, with the experiences of Indian ayahs who came to Britain during the 19th century. With private romance being mapped onto world history, the action cuts between the ship and different royal residences, offering bright contrasts as well as surprising affinities. In doing so, the play uncovers remarkable unknown stories of 19th-century Britain and charts the growth of Indian nationalism and the romantic proclivities of one of Britain's most surprising monarchs.

This revised edition was published to coincide with the revival at the RSC in summer 2023.

### Author Biography

**Tanika Gupta** has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK and has written extensively for BBC Radio drama. Some of her theatre credits include: _A Doll's House_ (Lyric Hammersmith); _Love N Stuff_ (Theatre Royal Stratford East); _The Empress_ (Royal Shakespeare Company); _Wah! Wah! Girls - A British Bollywood Musical_ (Sadler's Wells); _Mindwalking_ (Bandbazi Theatre); _Great Expectations_ (Watford Palace Theatre/English Touring Theatre); _Meet The Mukherjees_ (Bolton Octagon Theatre); _White Boy_ (National Youth Theatre/Soho Theatre); _Sugar Mummies_ (Royal Court Theatre); _Gladiator Games_ (Sheffield Crucible Theatre); _Hobson's Choice_ (Young Vic); _Fragile Land_ (Hampstead Theatre); In 2008 Tanika was awarded an MBE for Services to Drama and in 2016 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

**Number of Pages:** 128

**Dimensions:** 0.27 x 7.81 x 5.06 IN

**Publication Date:** August 18, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 21.53 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 21.53 USD | In stock |

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- The Empress - Paperback

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