Hardcover | 368 pages

Available soon

For fans of Balli Kaur Jaswal’sErotic Stories for Punjabi Widowsand Thrity Umrigar’sThe Space Between Us,Alka Josh’sThe Henna Artistby is lushly-rendered, emotional book club fiction set in post-Raj 1950s Jaipur about a young woman struggling to shape her own destiny in a world pivoting between the traditional and the modern.

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

Eloquent and movingJoshi masterfully balances a yearning for self-discovery with the need for familial love.Publishers Weekly

Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one womans struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern,The Henna Artistopens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artistand confidanteto the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in towa sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.