HarperCollins to Publish Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s New Novel INDEPENDENCE

shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in | 3 August 2022

is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s new novel

INDEPENDENCE

Award-winning and bestselling author of The Last Queen and The Forest of Enchantments Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni publishes her most ambitious novel to date.

HarperCollins Publishers India will release Independence later this year, which marks 75 years of India’s independence.

Set against the freedom struggle, Independence is an unforgettable story about three sisters, their unbreakable bond, and a nation about to be born. Film rights to Independence have already been optioned.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni says: ‘Independence is a novel very close to my heart. My grandfather was involved in the freedom movement, so it is especially meaningful for me. I have poured all my creative energies into this story of nationhood, womanhood, love, longing and hatred. I hope it will resonate with my readers.’

Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India, says: ‘A new book from Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is not just a publishing event but also a gift. Over the last two decades Chitra has enthralled readers with one magnificent story after another, and her new novel Independence is everything you can expect and more. As the country celebrates 75 years of freedom, the timing couldn’t have been better for a book that is as much personal as it is relevant. Chitra is one of the world’s foremost storytellers and in this novel she shows you why.’

Diya Kar, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s editor, says: ‘Independence will get under your skin. Not just the three sisters at the heart of the novel, Deepa, Jamini and Priya, but also the men—particularly Somnath Chowdhury and Nabakumar Ganguly. As we mark 75 years of India’s freedom, it is a timely reminder of what a great gift independence is, and how much carnage and suffering hate can bring. The immense power of Chitra’s storytelling makes her one of our most-beloved authors. I can’t wait for her new novel to be read and loved.’

ABOUT THE NOVEL

THREE SISTERS. THEIR UNBREAKABLE BOND. AND A NATION ABOUT TO BE BORN.

Here is a river…

Here is a village…

Here is a grand old mansion…

Here is the country that contains them all…

India. August, 1946. Everything is about to change.

Priya, Jamini and Deepa, Dr Nabakumar Ganguly’s daughters, live in Ranipur, Bengal, safe from the rising turbulence in the country. When their father is killed on Direct Action Day, their world turns upside-down.

Priya, the youngest, intelligent and idealistic, is determined to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, no matter how difficult. She is lucky to have the support of zamindar Somnath Chowdhury, her father’s best friend.

Jamini, devout, dutiful and talented, helps her mother stitch kanthas to make ends meet. Hungering for affection even as she is resentful of her sisters, she nurses a secret desire.

Beautiful Deepa, the eldest, all set to marry well, falls in love with Raza, Youth Leader at the Muslim League, and has to face the consequences.

When India is finally partitioned, the sisters find themselves separated from one another, afraid of what will happen to not only themselves, but also each other. It is only then that they understand what it means to be independent, and the price one has to pay for it.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s powerful new novel is a moving story of loyalty and love, nationhood and sisterhood, set against India’s independence movement, at once exhilarating and devastating.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE NOVEL

‘A spellbinding saga of the decolonization and partition of the Indian subcontinent, with a cast of vividly drawn, compelling characters.’ – AMITAV GHOSH

‘A national movement unsettles a country. Only a powerful imagination can recreate how profoundly it changes three women’s lives.’ – NAYANTARA SAHGAL

‘I have long been a fan of Chitra Divakaruni’s novels, but Independence is now my favorite.’ – LISA SEE

AUTHOR BIO

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist and teacher of writing. Her work has been published widely, in magazines and anthologies, and her books have been translated into twenty-nine languages. Several of her works have been made into films and plays. Her last novel was the award-winning bestseller, The Last Queen, film rights to which have been bought by a major production house. She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy, and has two sons, Anand and Abhay. She teaches in the internationally acclaimed Creative Writing programme at the University of Houston. Chitra tweets @cdivakaruni and she loves to connect with her readers on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni/

For more information, please contact – Shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in