Beautifully written and deeply researched, this story told through the eyes of a Begum, a slave and a group of courtesans during 1857 is a must-read. It is Lucknow of 1857. The forces of East India Company are about to unleash plunder on what was once the cultural capital of the kingdom of Awadhi. But there is amah, a member of the rose Platoon, an elite Corps of female military guards of African descent who have protected Lucknow’s royalty for generations. Her queen, Begum Hazrat Mahal, who is also of African descent, enlists amah to be her eyes and ears and help fight the British takeover. Synthesizing a wealth of meticulous historical research, and inspired by her own family history, jocelyn cullity’s amah and the silk-winged Pigeon is centred on a group of strong, independent women who take action to defend their world and a way of life. The book plunges the reader into the complex drama and historical dilemmas faced by both ordinary and extraordinary lakhnavis (people of Lucknow) at the time. When the women decide to take on the English colonists who declare rule, what will be the ultimate of the women’s loyalty to the royal family and to the place they’ve grown to love.