The Enchantress of Florence: Fabulous Blather

Abstract

Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence glances at history on a grand scale. This, his ninth novel, offers a comparative view of two worlds: Mughal India and Medici Italy. The two dynasties ruled at about the same time—the Mughals in India from the sixteenth through the eighteenth century, the Medici in Florence from the fourteenth through the eighteenth century. Rushdie fabricates a link between the two through an account of a Mughal princess—sister of Babar, the founder of the dynasty—who shows up in Florence and sways men in power through her sheer beauty. At a later time, a golden-haired man claiming to be the son of the princess arrives in Akbar's court and tells the emperor the story of the princess. He calls himself "Mogor dell' Amore" or "a Mughal born out of wedlock" (Rushdie's emphasis) (91). The story he tells will make or break his fortune. Either it will earn him the status of a Mughal or it will lead to his ignominious exit from the court or a worse fate.