Could a worse fate befall any\n mortal?\n History comes alive in this fast-paced novel set in mid-seventeenth-century\n India which recounts the last year in the life of Dara Shukoh, the eldest son\n of Emperor Shah Jahan and heir apparent to the Mughal empire. Storm clouds\n begin gathering, as Shah Jahan falls severely ill, and Dara’s brothers\n Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad contest Dara’s right to the throne. In the\n ensuing war of succession,\n Dara, who finds greater satisfaction in inter-religious discourse than in\n statecraft, is no match\n for the ruthless Aurangzeb. Beset by divided counsels, he flees desperately\n across India, pursued\n relentlessly by Aurangzeb, facing defeat whenever he pauses to fight, until\n he is betrayed and pays\n for it with his life.Yet, Dara’s fate was not inglorious. Had not Alima\n Mooltani, whose blessings he\n had sought, prophesied that while Aurangzeb would wield the sceptre for a\n while, which would end\n with his death, Dara’s name would live forever in history and he would be\n revered down the ages\n as the prince of peace.\n Misfortune’s Favourite is a tale of high adventure, hair-breadth escapes,\n bravery, loyalty and fortitude, combined with deceit and betrayal, as larger-than-life\n characters leap out of its pages, in their struggle for dominion and power.