Alka Joshi moved to the United States at age nine, but the author’s native Rajasthan, India looms large in her chart-topping historical fiction. Many readers know her best for The Henna Artist (2020), the first entry in The Jaipur Trilogy. It follows dye artisan and herbal healer Lakshmi Shastri, who flees an abusive marriage and attempts to earn a livelihood in the vibrant city of Jaipur. Set in the unsettled decade after the country’s independence, “The Henna Artist is a fabulous glimpse into Indian culture of the 1950s… rich in detail and bright with tastes and textures” (Bookpage). Reese Witherspoon selected Joshi’s debut for her Hello Sunshine Book Club, and the book will soon have a second life as a Netflix original series. The Perfumist of Paris, Joshi’s much-anticipated conclusion to The Jaipur Trilogy, hit shelves in March. In an early review, historical fiction mainstay Kate Quinn raves: “Evoking India and France with equal beauty, this is Alka Joshi’s best book yet!”

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