Article contributed by Laura Glassman
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know tells a compelling story of two young women from different centuries who become connected.
Khayyam, an American, French, Indian, Muslim teenager, is trying to get into college for art history while researching how Alexandre Dumas and Delacroix might have had a connection in the past. Her boyfriend has just ghosted her, leaving her trying to figure out more about herself and her life. She unexpectedly encounters a young man in Paris named Alexandre Dumas who is the sixth great-grandson of the original Dumas, and the two begin to spend time together and learn about the past. Meanwhile, in the 19th century, we learn the story of Leila, a young woman who was favoured in a harem, and who struggles to keep her true love a secret for the sake of her own safety. Khayyam begins to make connections through her research to Leila and some historical figures including Delacroix, Dumas, and Lord Byron, whom she may have been connected to.
This book is in large part about shining a light on women who do not typically have or who have not historically had a voice. Samira Ahmed describes her goal of shining a light on women whom the history books, generally written by men, have ignored, and setting right the fact that history has long been an exclusionary tale. In telling the stories of Khayyam and Leila, she hopes to give voice to stories that often remain untold.
Khayyam is an art history nerd who is absolutely fascinated with the story of a painting inspired by Lord Byron, painted by Eugene Delacroix, and potentially owned by the famous Alexandre Dumas whom she suspects may have had a connection to Delacroix. She also becomes interested in the story of Leila, who is connected to the story of the painting but whose story is largely untold. Khayyam is smart, snarky, fierce, and yet at times unsure of herself. Her story is part her fascination with the research that she is doing, and part a coming-of-age story as she struggles to figure out how she will get into college, get past her feelings for the boy who stopped talking to her, and then begins to feel affection for a new, charming, and slightly mysterious romantic interest.
Leila is a romantic who falls in love with the entrancing Giaour, a young man who is not the leader of the harem that she is part of. Her love affair is dangerous though because Pasha, to whom the harem belongs, can exact revenge if he learns of their love affair. Leila is a young woman learning who she is, and she is a brave woman with plenty of depth. Her story connects her in surprising ways to other interesting figures in history, which adds to the complexity of the story. Her story is fascinating because it is not a story that is typically widely told, and because it unfolds in such unexpected ways.
One of the reasons this book is a great read is that it’s a mix of mystery, social and cultural commentary, and a coming-of-age teenage romance. Since this is such a multifaceted book, there is a lot to like and be interested in as the story progresses.
The story of Leila and of Khayyam’s search to unearth the true story of the painting and the historical figures that she wonders about are the highlights of this book. Khayyam feels deeply connected to Leila and is passionate about figuring out how to honour her story. The romances add depth and excitement to the story but the true highlight of the book is in the mystery of Leila and Khayyam and Alexandre’s quest to uncover its truth. Though romance adds an interesting personal (and modern day) element to Khayyam’s story, Ahmed’s writing shines first and foremost where she has written a complex mystery and social commentary about women in history.
This is a thoughtful and compelling book about history and the people whose lives are invisible and about shedding light on the stories of those (particularly women) whose stories remain untold. The characters are passionate about unearthing and bringing to life a story about a remarkable woman who few have heard of. Readers who may have learned about a more western-focused version of art history will find this story fascinating. As Khayyam says, history is really about people’s stories. What kind of history is one where we only learn about and honour certain people’s stories and not others?
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of April 7th 2020.
Will you be picking up Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed traces the lives of two young women fighting to write their own stories and escape the pressure of familial burdens and cultural expectations in worlds too long defined by men.
It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her professor parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is probably ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light.
Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of a descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron.
Echoing across centuries, Leila and Khayyam’s lives intertwine, and as one woman’s long-forgotten life is uncovered, another’s is transformed.
