“Gripping, hugely involving, and very satisfying” KATE MOSSE
Set in Pakistan, London and Egypt, this epic drama centres around the life of Zarri, the glamorous daughter of a wealthy landowner.
Zarrie Bano is the charismatic 28-year-old daughter of a wealthy Muslim landowner. She falls in love with Sikander, a business tycoon to whom her father takes an immediate dislike. When Zarri’s brother is killed in a freak accident, her father decides to make her his heiress, resurrecting an ancient tradition and forcing her into marriage to the Holy Koran, to become her clan’s ‘holy woman’ – a nun.
A powerful and compelling family drama, The Holy Woman 2nd Revised ed. Edition is a romantic story of love and betrayal within a wealthy Muslim community.
Editorial Reviews
Review
A lean, lyrical meditation on tradition and independence, sensuality and sacrifice, set against the moral background of modern day Pakistan, Shahraz’s debut beguiles throughout―The TimesA stunning debut – an intricate study of love, family, politics and sacrifice―Eastern EyeAn international bestseller: an extraordinary story of love and betrayal in rural Pakistan―Manchester Evening News
An
absorbing adventure, from a vivid imagination―She
About the Author
Qaisra Shahraz FRSA is a prize-winning and critically acclaimed novelist, scriptwriter and peace and gender activist. She is the founder, curator and Executive Director of MACFEST, Muslim Arts and Culture Festival. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a literary judge, a former Director of Gatehouse Books and Asia Pacific Writers & Translators partnership, advisor to International Journal IJRHS. Her novels – The Holy Woman 2nd Revised ed. Edition, Typhoon, Revolt – and her collections of short stories – A Pair of Jeans and other stories and The Concubine & The Slave Catcher – stories from around the world – have been translated into several languages.