William Dalrymple

James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court of Hyderabad when he met Khair un-Nissa, 'Most Excellent among Women,' the great neice of the Prime Minister of Hyderabad. He fell in love with her and overcame many obstacles to marry her, converting to Islam and according to Indian sources becoming a double-agent working against the East India Company. The award-winning historian and travel writer tels the story.