The Royal Studies Journal aims to provide reviews of recent publications covering all aspects of royal and monarchical culture from every chronological period and geographic setting.
Reviews of new works are commissioned directly by the Book Review Editor on a regular basis. If you wish to propose a book for review or are interested in becoming a reviewer for the journal please contact the Book Review Editor here.
Many newly published works are received by the journal but it is not always possible to find reviewers for those works immediately. Books presented below are those works that have been received by the journal but have not yet been assigned for review.
The unassigned books listed below are but a small fraction of the total number of works that the journal has received. If you are interested in reviewing one of the unassigned works on this list, please contact the Book Review Editor here.
For more information about book reviews at the Royal Studies Journal, including how to register a general interest in becoming a reviewer for us or how to request or recommend a particular title for review, please see the "Book Reviews" section on our the Submissions page of the website.
Royals on tour: Politics, pageantry and colonialism
Edited by Robert Aldrich and Cindy McCreery
2017 | Manchester University Press
Copy Available: Yes
Language: English
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9781526109378
Royals on Tour explores visits by European monarchs and princes to colonies, and by indigenous royals to Europe in the 1800s and early 1900s with case studies of travel by royals from Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina. Such tours projected imperial dominion and asserted the status of non-European dynasties. The celebrity of royals, the increased facility of travel, and the interest of public and press made tours key encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans. The reception visitors received illustrate the dynamics of empire and international relations. Ceremonies, speeches and meetings formed part of the popular culture of empire and monarchy. Mixed in with pageantry and protocol were profound questions about the role of monarchs, imperial governance, relationships between metropolitan and overseas elites, and evolving expressions of nationalism.
Aurangzeb The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King
By Audrey Truschke
2017 | Stanford University Press
Copy Available: Yes
Language: English
Pages: 152
ISBN: 9781503602038
Winner of the 2017 Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title, sponsored by the American Library Association.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir is one of the most hated men in Indian history. Widely reviled as a religious fanatic who sought to violently oppress Hindus, he is even blamed by some for setting into motion conflicts that would result in the creation of a separate Muslim state in South Asia. In her lively overview of his life and influence, Audrey Truschke offers a clear-eyed perspective on the public debate over Aurangzeb and makes the case for why his often-maligned legacy deserves to be reassessed.
Aurangzeb was arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. His nearly 50-year reign (1658–1707) had a profound influence on the political landscape of early modern India, and his legacy—real and imagined—continues to loom large in India and Pakistan today. Truschke evaluates Aurangzeb not by modern standards but according to the traditions and values of his own time, painting a picture of Aurangzeb as a complex figure whose relationship to Islam was dynamic, strategic, and sometimes contradictory. This book invites students of South Asian history and religion into the world of the Mughal Empire, framing the contemporary debate on Aurangzeb's impact and legacy in accessible and engaging terms.