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"Gripping, hugely involving, and very satisfying" KATE MOSSE

Set in Pakistan, London and Egypt, this epic drama centres around the life of Zarri, the glamorous daughter of a wealthy landowner.

Zarrie Bano is the charismatic 28-year-old daughter of a wealthy Muslim landowner. She falls in love with Sikander, a business tycoon to whom her father takes an immediate dislike. When Zarri's brother is killed in a freak accident, her father decides to make her his heiress, resurrecting an ancient tradition and forcing her into marriage to the Holy Koran, to become her clan's 'holy woman' - a nun.

A powerful and compelling family drama, The Holy Woman is a romantic story of love and betrayal within a wealthy Muslim community.

About the Author

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Qaisra Shahraz FRSA is a prize-winning and critically acclaimed novelist, scriptwriter and peace and gender activist. She is the founder, curator and Executive Director of MACFEST, Muslim Arts and Culture Festival. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a literary judge, a former Director of Gatehouse Books and Asia Pacific Writers & Translators partnership, advisor to International Journal IJRHS. Her novels - The Holy Woman, Typhoon, Revolt - and her collections of short stories - A Pair of Jeans and other stories and The Concubine & The Slave Catcher - stories from around the world - have been translated into several languages.

Praise For…

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A lean, lyrical meditation on tradition and independence, sensuality and sacrifice, set against the moral background of modern day Pakistan, Shahraz's debut beguiles throughout—The Times

A stunning debut - an intricate study of love, family, politics and sacrifice—Eastern Eye

An international bestseller: an extraordinary story of love and betrayal in rural Pakistan—Manchester Evening News

An absorbing adventure, from a vivid imagination—She