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The Last Vicereine: A Novel
It was the spring of 1947 when Lord and Lady Mountbatten arrived in New Delhi. India was on the brink of civil war. The reluctant vicereine was a rebel, a rule breaker.
It was never going to be easy working for her. She was a troubled old soul, a great beauty, a firecracker. But there was more to Edwina than met the eye. The glamour was a façade. Behind it was a highly intelligent woman of influence and power. They would always say that ought not to have been. But it was and the greatest of all Edwina's friends was Jawahar.
No one could have imagined the maelstrom of intrigue, events and relationships that would change their lives and those of millions of Indians forever. Set amidst the turmoil of Partition, The Last Vicereine is a heart-breaking story of the birth of two nations, of love, grief, tragedy, inhumanity and of the triumph of hope.
It was never going to be easy working for her. She was a troubled old soul, a great beauty, a firecracker. But there was more to Edwina than met the eye. The glamour was a façade. Behind it was a highly intelligent woman of influence and power. They would always say that ought not to have been. But it was and the greatest of all Edwina's friends was Jawahar.
No one could have imagined the maelstrom of intrigue, events and relationships that would change their lives and those of millions of Indians forever. Set amidst the turmoil of Partition, The Last Vicereine is a heart-breaking story of the birth of two nations, of love, grief, tragedy, inhumanity and of the triumph of hope.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
340 pages, Paperback
Published August 23, 2017
11 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang
6 books12 followersRhiannon Jenkins Tsang is a British author whose work focuses on historical and cultural faultlines.
Novels
The Last Vicereine, Penguin Random House 2017
The Woman Who Lost China Open Books 2013
Short Stories
Hong Noir (anthology) Akashic 2018
Novels
The Last Vicereine, Penguin Random House 2017
The Woman Who Lost China Open Books 2013
Short Stories
Hong Noir (anthology) Akashic 2018
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 22, 2025
The Last Vicereine offers a ringside view of the end of an empire from the corridors of the British Governor General’s House. Told through Pippi Lawrence, a fictional friend of Edwina Mountbatten and special assistant to the Vicreine, the book reconstructs the last days of the Raj and the chaotic aftermath of Partition with a steady confidence.
Pippi’s voice becomes our window into a world where decisions shaping millions are taken over tea trays and diplomatic niceties. The transfer of power, the haphazard drawing of borders, and the violence that erupts — all of it unfolds around her with a mix of disbelief and inevitability. The author tries hard to keep the narrative neutral, rarely assigning blame to any one side. The Indian characters who come into focus are the “sophisticated” ones — those fluent in English customs — while the common folk, the ones who bear the brunt of the decisions, appear mainly as caretakers, victims, or occasional perpetrators of the violence simmering outside the mansion walls.
Unavoidably, the book acknowledges the whispered, long-rumoured relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten. Those chapters are handled with surety and a certain British boldness — not sensational, but firm in their suggestion. And through Pippi’s eyes, we also see the cracks in the Mountbatten marriage. I had known about the later tragedy — the bombing of Mountbatten’s yacht by the IRA — but I wasn’t aware of the emotional complexities within the marriage itself.
Familiar historical personalities are painted in slightly altered colors. Gandhi retains his halo, though registering the voice of the opposition; Radcliffe, often the villain in Indian retellings, is portrayed with unexpected sympathy. The violence of Partition is described with enough detail to remind you it wasn’t fictional — and for that, the book earns respect.
If I have a quibble, it’s with the indulgent detours into the fictional lives of Pippi and Dr. Hari. While they allow for commentary, they occasionally pull the momentum away from the larger story. But then, perhaps without these fictional threads, the book might have felt too much like a documentary — and it tries very hard to be a novel.
Overall, The Last Vicereine is an engaging, thoughtful read. It doesn’t rewrite history, but it nudges you to look at it through a different lens — one set in an corridors in New Delhi where personal loyalties, political ambitions, and the collapse of an empire all play out in real time.
Pippi’s voice becomes our window into a world where decisions shaping millions are taken over tea trays and diplomatic niceties. The transfer of power, the haphazard drawing of borders, and the violence that erupts — all of it unfolds around her with a mix of disbelief and inevitability. The author tries hard to keep the narrative neutral, rarely assigning blame to any one side. The Indian characters who come into focus are the “sophisticated” ones — those fluent in English customs — while the common folk, the ones who bear the brunt of the decisions, appear mainly as caretakers, victims, or occasional perpetrators of the violence simmering outside the mansion walls.
Unavoidably, the book acknowledges the whispered, long-rumoured relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten. Those chapters are handled with surety and a certain British boldness — not sensational, but firm in their suggestion. And through Pippi’s eyes, we also see the cracks in the Mountbatten marriage. I had known about the later tragedy — the bombing of Mountbatten’s yacht by the IRA — but I wasn’t aware of the emotional complexities within the marriage itself.
Familiar historical personalities are painted in slightly altered colors. Gandhi retains his halo, though registering the voice of the opposition; Radcliffe, often the villain in Indian retellings, is portrayed with unexpected sympathy. The violence of Partition is described with enough detail to remind you it wasn’t fictional — and for that, the book earns respect.
If I have a quibble, it’s with the indulgent detours into the fictional lives of Pippi and Dr. Hari. While they allow for commentary, they occasionally pull the momentum away from the larger story. But then, perhaps without these fictional threads, the book might have felt too much like a documentary — and it tries very hard to be a novel.
Overall, The Last Vicereine is an engaging, thoughtful read. It doesn’t rewrite history, but it nudges you to look at it through a different lens — one set in an corridors in New Delhi where personal loyalties, political ambitions, and the collapse of an empire all play out in real time.
May 25, 2020
The book is really well researched, and you'll enjoy it if you like Indian history and are interested in Partition. The mood is dark and dreary, and the protagonist spends a lot of time thinking about her depressing past and how there's no respite for her even thousands of miles away in India. It makes for really heavy reading. The book is well written though, with vivid descriptions of people, places and events.
January 14, 2026
This is a story of the time India gained her freedom through the eyes of Lady Mountbatten's friend and special assistant Lady Wallace (a character made up by the author). It reads well almost wholly except perhaps when Lady Wallace Pippi meets and falls in love with an Indian doctor during their stay in India. I guess during any major historical events people despite the sadness, violence and unreasonableness around, did manage to fall in love but being an Indian and having heard of the partition horrors, it felt frivolous. Especially the sequence of their coming together after her having seen a train full of massacred people. Another peeve for me was that this book was more about Lady Wallace than Edwina Mountbatten and Nehru as the title and cover suggests. They were actually in the background. But that was perhaps how the author wanted the book to be like. This is however a very well researched and good read. If the country, the time, the history were not mine, I perhaps would have enjoyed it even more.
March 24, 2022
Conflicted about giving this three stars cause there were times when I could see it being four and others where I wanted to give it two. It definitely didn't need to be as long as it did but I appreciated the reimagination of a lesser-known aspect of Indian history. The description and title are definitely misleading as this book is barely about Edwina Mountbatten herself and revolves around Lady Wallace. I would call it interesting but not riveting. You'll only be able to finish it if you want to but not because the actual book propels you to.
October 6, 2022
Rating- 3.5/5
This is a well written book. However, I feel that it has been wrongly named because instead of speaking about the Last Vicerine, it is an account of the experiences of her Special Assistant Lady Letticia Wallace (fictional character). However the author has included some of the most important events surrounding the time was India was declared independent, the mass exodus and the leaving of the Mountbattens.
The prose is beautiful and keeps you interested. But I was a bit disappointed because as the name suggests I was thinking it would be about the Last Vicerine which it certainly isn't.
The author has done thorough research and has also spoken to some of the people who were eye witnesses to the events that unfolded after the Mountbattens came to India. It is a good book except for the fact that it is not about Lady Mountbatten.
This is a well written book. However, I feel that it has been wrongly named because instead of speaking about the Last Vicerine, it is an account of the experiences of her Special Assistant Lady Letticia Wallace (fictional character). However the author has included some of the most important events surrounding the time was India was declared independent, the mass exodus and the leaving of the Mountbattens.
The prose is beautiful and keeps you interested. But I was a bit disappointed because as the name suggests I was thinking it would be about the Last Vicerine which it certainly isn't.
The author has done thorough research and has also spoken to some of the people who were eye witnesses to the events that unfolded after the Mountbattens came to India. It is a good book except for the fact that it is not about Lady Mountbatten.
November 15, 2020
Great historical fiction, great read
The events in this novel take place in the months leading up to and following Indian Independence and Partition. The first person narrator is a fictional character who is an assistant to Lady Edwina Mountbatten- the last Vicereine of India and the narrative includes an account of Edwina’s affair with Pandit Nehru, India’s first prime minister.
I’m not a great reader of historical fiction - I think it’s a bit hit and miss because the quality of the writing and what it is trying to achieve is so variable- fantastic historian though she is I can’t enjoy Alison Weir’s historical fiction and I had to take a Sharon Penman to the charity shop a hundred pages in recently. So I’m no expert - but there has to be a decent prose style and it has to wear it’s research lightly enough for you not to be distracted from the story. The plot and characters have to be engaging enough to make turning the pages a pleasure. The history has to teach me something and inspire confidence in its accuracy.
This novel more than met those requirements. Mrs Jenkins Tsang beautifully captures the stoic restraint and manners of the generation who went through the Second World War in active service ( a touch of Sarah Waters). She provides a narrator you warm to, whose story is more moving and compelling than that of the Vicereine. I was moved to tears several times as a major theme of the novel is the accommodation of loss which was achieved with great sensitivity. The author vividly evokes place. She presents a view of the background to decision making around Partition and it’s timing which made me think again about my received wisdom on Louis Mountbatten’s culpability. She treads a thoughtful line generally in describing the motives and attitudes of the last Indian colonialists without apologising for empire (in the sense of excusing it) or revelling in it (as in nostalgia for past glory). It is assured and convincing and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it or to read this author again.
The events in this novel take place in the months leading up to and following Indian Independence and Partition. The first person narrator is a fictional character who is an assistant to Lady Edwina Mountbatten- the last Vicereine of India and the narrative includes an account of Edwina’s affair with Pandit Nehru, India’s first prime minister.
I’m not a great reader of historical fiction - I think it’s a bit hit and miss because the quality of the writing and what it is trying to achieve is so variable- fantastic historian though she is I can’t enjoy Alison Weir’s historical fiction and I had to take a Sharon Penman to the charity shop a hundred pages in recently. So I’m no expert - but there has to be a decent prose style and it has to wear it’s research lightly enough for you not to be distracted from the story. The plot and characters have to be engaging enough to make turning the pages a pleasure. The history has to teach me something and inspire confidence in its accuracy.
This novel more than met those requirements. Mrs Jenkins Tsang beautifully captures the stoic restraint and manners of the generation who went through the Second World War in active service ( a touch of Sarah Waters). She provides a narrator you warm to, whose story is more moving and compelling than that of the Vicereine. I was moved to tears several times as a major theme of the novel is the accommodation of loss which was achieved with great sensitivity. The author vividly evokes place. She presents a view of the background to decision making around Partition and it’s timing which made me think again about my received wisdom on Louis Mountbatten’s culpability. She treads a thoughtful line generally in describing the motives and attitudes of the last Indian colonialists without apologising for empire (in the sense of excusing it) or revelling in it (as in nostalgia for past glory). It is assured and convincing and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it or to read this author again.
October 19, 2017
This book is evergreen. It will become a classic. This book is not to be forgotten. — After hearing these praises your first thought would be that I loved this book, which I ABSOLUTELY did! It’s writing was amazing, I loved all the characters. This book is titled ‘The Last Vicereine’, who was Edwina Mountbatten, The Last Vicereine of India. However this book doesn’t totally evolve around her but rather people like Lady Wallace and Jawaharlal Nehru. I’m not spoiling this for you, because you BETTER start reading this. A trapiquatrigazillion stars!!
June 29, 2024
The author has definitely done a lot of research on pre and post partitioned India, convincingly conveying the sentiments of the people and its leaders during that time. Sometimes the book felt like 3 stars, since it was such a slow read, a drag at places with unnecessary details or letter snippets which I was very much tempted to skip. Otherwise, it's a good read and beautifully captures most of the unconventional romance between Edwina and Nehru to the point where we wish their love story had had a happy ending.
January 11, 2022
This book is less about the vicerine and more about Lady Wallace
July 27, 2023
Interesting to read but it is a fiction. Title is misleading, it's not much about Edwina at all. But never felt bored at any point of time.
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September 7, 2017Review to follow.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews