Broken Threads - My Family from Empire to Independence

'Unforgettable' SATHNAM SANGHERA 'Spell-binding' PETER FRANKOPAN 'Fascinating' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE An extraordinary family memoir from acclaimed newsreader and journalist, Mishal Husain, uncovering the story of her grandparents' lives amidst empire, political upheaval and partition. ‘I witnessed the dwindling glow of the British Empire. I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions’ The lives of Mishal Husain’s grandparents changed forever in 1947, as the new nation states of India and Pakistan were born. For years she had a partial story, a patchwork of memories and anecdotes: hurried departures, lucky escapes from violence and homes never seen again. Decades later, the fragment of an old sari sent Mishal on a journey through time, using letters, diaries, memoirs and audio tapes to trace four lives shaped by the Raj, a world war, independence and partition. Mumtaz rejects the marriage arranged for him as he forges a life with Mary, a devout Catholic from an Anglo-Indian family, while Tahirah and Shahid watch the politics of pre-partition Delhi unfold at close quarters. As freedom comes, bonds fray and communities are divided, leaving two couples to forge new identities, while never forgetting the shared heritage of the past. ‘Beautifully written, emotional and deeply personal, yet universal … One can't help but be moved by this story of upheaval and transformation’ SADIQ KHAN ‘As the daughter of a partition family myself, I was so moved by this stirring and deeply moving account that is at once a love story as well as a chronicle of one of the most cataclysmic events in South Asia. A book of loss and longing’ BARKHA DUTT Review Quote‘At times this book feels like vital history, which just happens to read like a great novel. At other times, it reads like a novel that just happens to inform us about great history. The prose is always clear and the characters are unforgettable. One of the best memoirs I've read in years’ SATHNAM SANGHERA ‘This is the most important and accessible book I have ever read about the days leading up to and surrounding the partition of India. I read it as one would a thriller, a page-turner; a fabulous achievement by a skilled writer, packed with facts but floating like a butterfly. I cannot recommend it strongly enough’ JOANNA LUMLEY 'A love story and an extraordinary personal journey set against some of the greatest upheavals of the 21st century. A book that is as moving as it is important’ PETER FRANKOPAN ‘An unflinching portrait of a family splintered by partition. Husain’s beautifully written family memoir examines the shared trauma that so many families like hers endured, finding hope and compassion in one of South Asia’s darkest chapters’ JEMIMA KHAN ‘Mishal Husain weaves an intricate family web that catches all the hope and optimism, as well as the tragedy and disappointment of the birth of Pakistan and independent India in 1947. With clarity, warmth and profound sympathy, as well as some brilliant archival detective work, she performs a fascinating act of reconstruction of the world that disappeared in Partition’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE ‘If you love Mishal’s broadcasting, you’ll be utterly enchanted by this meticulously researched story’ JON SOPELBiographical NoteMishal Husain is a broadcaster, journalist and interviewer whose work has taken her from elections and royal events to refugee camps and filming documentaries. She presents BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and Today Debates, as well as the TV news on BBC1. Her first book was The Skills: How to Win at Work.Mishal Husain is a respected and widely recognised figure as a journalist and newsreader for BBC television and radio. She is one of the main presenters of Radio 4's Today, and occasionally presents BBC News at Ten and BBC News at Six. Gives a personal and unique perspective of India in 1947, when Partition created the new state of Pakistan, by centring the experiences of Husain’s four grandparents. Her clear-eyed research is accompanied by letters, diaries, unpublished memoirs, tapes and interviews with her surviving family. Combines memoir from a public figure with a landmark historical moment, and interrogates the impact of colonialism, imperialism, religion and conflict that continues to echo today. Competition: hitler, stalin, mum and dad; house of glass; my family; midnight’s children; The Unwomanly Face of War; the last colony. daniel finkelstein; hadley freeman; david baddiel; Salman Rushdie; Philippe Sands; Svetlana Alexievich