Secrets and Sins

Jaishree Misra

Jaishree Misra grew up in India, moved to the UK in 1990 and has recently moved back to India with her husband and daughter.

She has an MA in English Honours from Kerala University and subsequently acquired two post-graduate diplomas, the first from the University of London in Special Education and the second from the London College of Printing in Broadcast Journalism.

'Ancient Promises' has been translated into German, Greek and Malayalam and became a major seller in India, staying on the top of best-seller lists in Indian newspapers and magazines for several weeks. Excerpts from the book have also been included in two Penguin anthologies: 'The Fiction Collection: 20 Years of Penguin India' and 'Where the Rain is Born: Writings about Kerala'.

Jaishree wrote two further novels commissioned by Penguin India, alongside a Little Book of Romance. The first is a comedy of manners set in Delhi ('Accidents Like Love & Marriage') and the second ('Afterwards') is a story of bereavement and loss that again went straight onto all Indian best-seller lists in the first week of its publication.

In 2004, Jaishree started to research and write a historical novel ('Rani'), set in British India and based on the real life story of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi who fought the British Army in the great uprising of 1857. The book was banned by the Uttar Pradesh government in India but went on to sell well, with film rights being sold subsequently too.

In 2008, Jaishree was offered a three-book deal by the Avon imprint of Harper Collins in the UK. The first of these books ('Secrets & Lies') was published in June 2009 and went onto Bookseller magazine's Heatseeker's list in the second week of its publication.