Equal to Any Man, Second to None

While England and Spain were still building their empires, the Iranians had already solidified theirs and were flourishing.  Equal of the Sun by Anita Amirrezvani tells the story of one of the great women of the great powers of the day.  Pari Khan Khanoom has been assisting her father in running the Safavid dynasty since she was fourteen.  Unmarried and in her late twenties, Pari takes on a eunuch, Javaher, to assist her. The long-reigning shah promptly dies, and the palace is thrown into chaos.  Because as a woman she is explicitly forbidden from wielding official power, Pari plots with Javaher's help to advise whoever takes the throne.  It's a dangerous game, and this book will keep you flipping the pages past your bedtime to find out what happens next.

Not only is the book full of incident, it is full of description as well: you can see, feel and especially taste the milieu of imperial Persia. The characters are well-drawn, you don't tend to get confused as to who is who.  There are also Persian phrases and idioms thrown in for added versimilitude.  Pari can be infuriating, both to Javaher (who narrates) and the reader because she has mastered all the arts of statecraft except for tact. At the same time, you know she's right. It would make for a dull book indeed if she were to get all she wanted all the time. Equal of the Sun is a bittersweet tale, and never, ever dull.