Throughout the Indian subcontinent he acquainted himself intimately with customs and cultures that, at least on the surface, are contrary to Western modes of thought.Īfter returning to America, John Shors became a newspaper reporter in his home state of Iowa. Over the next few years he visited ten countries, climbed the Himalayas of Nepal, and explored the monuments of India. After graduating in 1991 from Colorado College, where he studied creative writing and received an English degree, Shors pursued his dream of living in Asia: first in Kyoto, Japan, where he taught English for three years and then backpacking across the continent. John Shors has spent much of his life abroad. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. In a splendid debut, John Shors has crafted an immensely readable and well-researched historical novel of surprisingly contemporary relevance. Beneath a Marble Sky brims with action and intrigue befitting an epic era when, alongside continuous war, architecture and its attendant arts reached a pinnacle of perfection. The story surrounding the construction of the Taj Mahal occurs, however, against a scrim of fratricidal war, murderous rebellion, unimaginable wealth, and, not least of all, religious fundamentalism ruthlessly opposing tolerance and coexistence between the disparate peoples in the empire.Īt that time, Hindustan comprised all of modern Pakistan and Kashmir, most of eastern Afghanistan, and two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent (roughly north of Bombay to the Himalayas).īeneath a Marble Sky, narrated by Princess Jahanara, eldest daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, recounts their story, and her own as well, a parallel tale of forbidden love enduring censure and extreme deprivations. In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan, overwhelmed with grief over the death of his beloved wife, Mumatz Mahal, commissioned the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love.

Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors