Immortal Diamond

Synopsis

1909: In a villa in South Ascot, an extraordinary secret is about to be shared. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh – suffragette, firebrand, and daughter of the last Maharajah of the Punjab – arrives with a burden that could threaten the very foundations of the British Monarchy. At the heart of her visit is the Koh-i-Noor, the ‘Mountain of Light’, a jewel that has become the ultimate symbol of Imperial seizure.

Tracing a trail of colonial plunder from the Treasury at Lahore to the Edwardian drawing rooms of the English elite, Immortal Diamond is a masterly fictional investigation into the shadows of the Raj. Through the eyes of three remarkable women – the maternal Lena Login, the proto-feminist Mary Ponsonby, and the defiant Princess Sophia – A. N. Wilson constructs a narrative that is part high-stakes mystery, part tragic exposure of Imperial hypocrisy.

As the story moves from the brutal imprisonment of a Maharani to the shifting social sands of the early twentieth century, it asks: what is real and what is mere illusion? In a world built on the fantasy of Imperial permanence, the truth about a single stone carries the power to subvert an Empire.

Written with Wilson’s signature wit and deep historical erudition, Immortal Diamond is a provocative exploration of the amitié amoureuse between women who refused to be footnotes to history. It is a novel about the price of loyalty and the enduring sparkle of resistance.

Praise for Previous Work

‘(On previous The Potter’s Hand) A novel of epic scope, rich in warmth, intellect and humanity … Wilson has a light touch with his research.’ —My BookClub Reviews

‘(On Resolution) Wilson is a great biographer and a fine novelist, and his book is as much a factual account … as a piece of historical fiction. His achievement is to impart a restrained imaginative power.’ —The Guardian

‘(On Winnie and Wolf) An extraordinary relationship … Wilson reveals the unusual kinship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf Hitler through a shared love of opera.’ —The Booker Prizes

‘(On The Potter’s Hand) Erudite, often engaging and elegantly written … a magnificent canvas.’ —The Guardian

‘(On Resolution) Wilson’s description as a “perennial wanderer” carries the readers along … he conveys the intellectual atmosphere of the eighteenth century with vivid imagination.’ —The Times