K.J. Charles's Reviews > Koh-I-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond

A fascinating and hugely readable history of the Koh-i-noor diamond, which in the way of these things becomes a mini-history touching on Afghanistan (where it came from, which is why the Taliban recently demanded it back in the grounds it had been culturally appropriated, ahaha), the Mughals, then the East India Company and the Empire. William Dalrymple tells the first half, up to the jewel's handover to (or rather glaring theft by) the British; Anita Anand takes over with poor Duleep Singh's life and the jewel's movements to Britain and around various bits of regalia.

Absolutely fascinating, with a metric ton of inviting rabbitholes I now want to go down. How narrative non-fiction should be done.