Author: Waheed Rabbani

Waheed Rabbani was born in India, close to Delhi, and was introduced to Victorian and other English novels, at a very young age, in his father’s library. Most of the large number of volumes, in the library, had been purchased by his father at ‘garage sales’ held, by departing British civil service officers, in the last days of the Raj.

Waheed attended St. Partick’s High School in Karachi, Pakistan. He graduated from Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England, and received a Master’s degree from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. While an engineer by profession, Waheed’s other love is reading and writing English literature. He also obtained a Certificate in Creative Writing from the McMaster University.

Waheed’s first historical fiction novel, The Azadi Trilogy, Book I: Doctor Margaret’s Sea Chest, has been published and is available at all McNally Robinson, Amazon, B&N and other on-line Bookstores.

Waheed and his wife, Alexandra, are now settled on the shores of Lake Ontario in the historic town of Grimsby. More information is available on his website: http://home.cogeco.ca/~wrabbani

More can be found about Waheed's book (and where you can buy printed copies) on his Smashwords Profile Page.

Doctor Margaret’s Sea Chest by Waheed Rabbani

Doctor Margaret’s Sea Chest, is Book I of a trilogy of historical fiction set during India’s struggle for freedom—Azadi—from the British Raj. The Books weave a tale of international intrigue, conflict, and poignant love between interesting characters of that era.

In 1965 an over 100-year-old sea chest, believed to be that of an American doctor, Margaret, is discovered in the storage room of a hospital in Delhi. Another American doctor, Sharif, who originally hails from Delhi and is on contract at the hospital, is entrusted with the task of locating the mysterious woman’s relatives and returning her trunk. Sharif tracks down Margaret’s descendants in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Her diaries, and other artefacts—such as the Kingdom of Jhansi’s crown—are found in the coffer.

Margaret, born in New Jersey to a Scottish Presbyterian clerical family, achieves her heart’s desire, in 1850, to become one of the first North American women doctors. She marries her Canadian cousin, Robert, and travels with him to serve in the Crimean war of 1854. In Crimea, they have to not only face hardships of battles, but also endure other conflicts.

From events leading to and after the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, Margaret meets a Russian officer, Count Nicholai. The surprise ending of Book I, leaves Margaret in a quandary, whether to seek vengeance or to continue on with her journey to India. In the end, she believes she has made the right decision.