Islamabad Here is some exciting news for members of the Asian Study Group (ASG). In the wake of the successful Lahore Literature Festival, Australian writer and journalist John Zubrzycki is now visiting Islamabad and will present his latest book in the ASG Literature programme on Tuesday (February 24). Titled, ‘The Mysterious Mr. Jacob: Diamond Merchant; Magician and Spy,’ the book has been named “one of the best books on pre-partition India in 2013” by The Wall Street Journal and a number of other newspapers. Armed with little more than an obituary published almost ninety years ago, the author goes in search of one of the most romantic figures the sub-continent has ever seen. Alexander Malcolm Jacob was a magician, diamond merchant, mesmerist and spy, a man who inspired all those who met him, including Rudyard Kipling, who immortalised him as Lurgan Sahib, the ‘healer of sick pearls’ in his classic novel Kim. After arriving penniless in Bombay in 1871, Jacob became the most famous jeweler in the princely world of India of those days, a player in the Great Game and a confidante of Viceroys and Maharajas! Starting on the banks of the Tigris in modern-day Turkey where Jacob was born, John Zubrzycki strips away the myths and legends to discover the astonishing story of one of the most enigmatic figures of his time. The journey of his search takes him to the slums of Bombay; to the fabulous court of the Nizam of Hyderabad; the hedonistic heights of Simla, the summer capital of the Raj and finally to the labyrinthine corridors of Calcutta’s High Court, where Jacob’s career ended in bankruptcy and humiliation. John Zubrzycki is a Sydney-based writer and journalist who has worked for several media outlets including, ‘The Australian,’ ‘The Age’ (Melbourne), Radio Australia, ‘The South China Morning Post’ and ‘The Christian Science Monitor.’ He has also served as a diplomat in New Delhi and Jakarta and taught politics at the Australian National University. As a journalist he has reported from the Pacific, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe, including four years as a correspondent based in New Delhi. His first book ‘The Last Nizam: An Indian Prince in the Australian Outback,’ has been a best-seller in Australia and India. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, investigating how the sub-continents magic spread to the West.
