The first comprehensive and authoritative history of the Koh-i Noor, arguably the most celebrated and mythologised jewel in the world, from the internationally acclaimed and bestselling historians William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

A master story-teller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers - praise for Dalrymple's Return of a King -- Max Hastings Sunday Times Anita Anand's gripping book is a sad story of dispossession and dislocation ... The story is fast-paced and thrilling ... A noble book **** - praise for Anand's Sophia: Princess, Suffragette and Revolutionary Daily Telegraph Magnificent ... shames the simplistic efforts of previous writers - praise for Dalrymple's The Last Mughal Spectator Vivid and compelling ... Anand writes with the vigour and imaginative reach of a novelist - praise for Anand's Sophia: Princess, Suffragette and Revolutionary New Statesman

Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist for over twenty years. She is the presenter of Any Answers on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC television she has presented, among other shows, Newsnight. Her first book Sophia: Princess, Suffragette and Revolutionary was received to widespread acclaim. She lives in West London. William Dalrymple wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was just twenty-two. Since then, he has had seven more books published and won numerous awards for his writing, including the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award, the Duff Cooper Memorial Award, the Hemingway Prize and The Ryszard Kapuscinski Award for Literary Reportage. He lives with his wife and three children on a farm outside Delhi.