Bahiyyih Nakhjavani reads from her new novel.
The Woman Who Read Too Much is a story about the women of 19th-century Qajar Iran—it is the story of one woman in particular: the Poetess of Qazvin. Enigmatic, controversial, and by all accounts brilliant, the character was inspired by the historical personality of Tahirih Qurratu l-’Ayn—a literate Persian woman among the first followers of the Baha’i Faith who made history when she unveiled herself in public.
Her years-long struggle with the ecclesiastical community, her subsequent arrest and imprisonment, and her eventual death, forms the linear trajectory of Bahiyyih Nakhjavani’s new novel. But while the poetess anchors this story of court intrigues and social turmoil, much of her story unfolds from the perspectives of her contemporaries. Chief among these characters are four distinctive women: the Mother and Sister of the Shah, the Wife of the Mayor, and the poetess’s own daughter.
The following excerpt features the daughter’s reflections on her mother, the poetess, and in particular, the significance of her mother’s jewels:
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The Woman Who Read Too Much
I love your article
Posted by: Jill | April 12, 2015 at 12:39 AM
Great article. Thanks.
Posted by: Willy | April 7, 2015 at 05:03 AM