The Englishman’s Cameo is the debut novel of Madhulika Liddle. The novel revolving around the murder of an insignificant landlord has tried to capture the social life and court hierarchies of the Mughal rule. The power wielded by the courtesans, the role they played in the domestic intrigues of the rich and powerful men.
The man found dead is Mirza Murad Bagh and he was apparently coming back from visiting the ravishing courtesan Mehtab Banu. Later, Mehtab also is killed. Trace of poison in paan is on both of them, which firmly points to a murderer in Mehtab’s household. But the person arrested is a jeweller’s assistant who is a childhood friend of Muzaffar Jang, the hero of the novel. Jang is the brother-in-law of the kotwal and hence has easy access to prison and places. Desperate to prove the innocence of his friend Jang throws himself into investigation, which is apparently resented by Yusuf, the deputy kotwal. A cameo, in the form of a pendant with the portrait of an unidentified Englishman recovered from the jewel box of Mehtab leads him to the haveli of a Hindu zamindar, where he meets the brother of the Englishman, who is on the cameo.
The third murder is of the bodyguard of Murad Bagh and his sister Shamim disappears. Motive for the murders is the corruption in land records maintenance. And party to this was Yusuf and hence his resentment to Jang. Two attempts to murder Jang are also made. In the climax, it is Yusuf who turns out to be the man behind the murders. But then, there is also a small twist in the tale. The hand that poisoned the paan belongs to the step-sister of Mehtab, who treated her badly. But Jang does not expose her, but allows her to decide according to her conscience.
A rather tepid mystery story and narration. There is little in the pages to justify the title ‘a Mughal murder mystery.’
(Hachette India, 612/614 (6th floor), Time Tower, MG Road, Sector 28, Gurgaon-122 001.)
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