Birth of the Bastard Prince by Anurag Anand.

• Book: Birth of the Bastard Prince - The Legend of Amrapali. 
• Author: Anurag Anand. 
• Publication House: Rupa Publications.
• Category: Fiction.
• Rating: 4.5/5 

Story-in-Short:

Legendary courtesan Amrapali's life story is as enigmatic and extraordinary as her beauty and grace.Found abandoned under a mango tree as an infant, the twists and turns of fate led her to become theNagarvadhu, the most sought-after yet morally reviled courtesan of the kingdom.

Weaving together facts with fiction, written with a contemporary flavour, Birth of the Bastard Prince isan enchanting exploration of Amrapali's life as a courtesan and a mother, and her spiritual awakeningin the Buddhist order.

of Vaishali.In Birth of the Bastard Prince, the sequel to the riveting The Legend of Amrapali, Anurag Anand exploresAmrapali's eventful life as the Nagarvadhu. He describes in thrilling detail the war between Vaishali andMagadha, in which Amrapali played a crucial role; traces her love affair with Bimbisara, the emperorof Magadha, and the birth of their son Vimala Kondanna; reveals the palace intrigues and conspiraciesthat led to Amrapali's tribulations; and finally explains how Amrapali found the solace and happinessshe so desired.

In my view:

Author Anurag Anand has come up with a sequel of The Legend of Amrapali – Birth of the Bastard Prince. And in this sequel, he has pursued the story of the legendary Amrapali. 

Amrapali stabilizes her life after taking revenge on Manudeva – a wicked Vajji ruler. Becoming the Nagarvadhu of Vaishali, she begins to enjoy her life. She now occupies a vital position and is respected for her might and influence. Amrapali, at every step, has her dear friend Prabha standing firmly by her side. 

No sooner does her pleasurable life begin than she falls in love with Bindusen, an enigmatic trader. On the other hand, Prabha too, falls for a man. She gets attracted towards Suraj Mal who is liberalized by Amrapali from the hold of King Udit of Ukkacala. Slowly, life becomes blissful for the two pals.While these two enjoy their lives, King Bimbisara of Magadha plans to seize Vaishali alongwith his son Ajatshatru. And this plan forms the further and major part of the story. But hey, I am not going to reveal it as you need find it out from the book yourself. 

The book gets readers a cleverly written tale, with enough of twists and turns to hook-up their attention. 

The cover page of the book is slightly gloomy but for a historical story as this, it is quite suitable. The undoubtedly catchy title will persuade readers to purchase the book. The blurb is informative enough and after going through it, readers will definitely develop interest in the story. The narrative is extremely good and well-written. Besides, the author has used simple and comprehensible language to avoid intricacies.

The author has been kind enough to all those like me, who haven’t read the previous book, by briefly mentioning the previous story in the prologue. I still found it difficult to connect with the story in the initial stage, but trust me, things get explicit enough as the story proceeds ahead. I am glad that the author has come out with such a unique story, miles away from those typically tedious stories.  

Summing –up the review, I would say that it is a mesmerizing historical anecdote which one shouldn’t overlook. And yes, I am recommending this to all my dear readers. 

Considering everything, I would rate the book with 4.5/5.  I thank Anurag Anand for writing up this wonderful tale and I am looking forward to read more from him. 

NOTE: A review copy of the book was provided by the author. 

• The Birth of the Bastard Prince is available in leading bookstores. 
• You can also avail a copy online via: Amazon, Infibeam, Flipkart, Uread, Rediff.