SOURCE: Simon, Maurya. “A Princess Remembers the Fall of British India.” Los Angeles Times Book Review (9 April 1989): 10.

In the following review, Simon observes that Raj is an eloquent and engaging novel, noting that Mehta provides a unique feminine perspective on Indian literature.

“Providence,” wrote Rudyard Kipling, “created the Maharajahs to offer mankind a spectacle.” That spectacle flourished for several millennia within India, prior to the establishment of imperial rule in 1858 by the British Crown. Despite successive waves of foreign invasions and migrations over many centuries, and despite the passing and reformation of dynasties, the institution of Indian kingship (as old as the “Mahabharata” itself) remained constant and ubiquitous throughout the subcontinent until the mid-20th Century.

At the time of the first British colonies, India was ruled by 565 princely states. These states were most remarkable, perhaps, for their multiplicity and diversity. The very palaces and forts of the...