The Madness of Waiting - Muhammad Hadi Ruswa

Published in 1899, Muhammad Hadi Ruswa's famous novel, Umrao Jaan Ada,
created a sensation when it came out, with its candid fictionalized
account of Umrao Jaan, based on a renowned Lucknow courtesan and poetess
of the same name. Considered by many as the first Urdu novel, it
remains highly popular today, and has been the basis for three films and
a Pakistani television serial. But despite Ruswa's notoriety, few know
that a month after he wrote Umrao Jaan Ada, Ruswa penned a sly novella entitled Junun-e-Intezar,
in which "Umrao" avenges herself on her creator, Ruswa, by narrating
the story of his life. Blurring the lines between truth and fiction,
narrator and character, this clever narrative strategy gives the
courtesan a voice.While Umrao Jaan Ada is still celebrated, Junun-e-Intezar has been completely forgottenuntil now.
The Madness of Waiting redresses this imbalance, featuring both the Urdu original and a superb English translation of Junun-e-Intezar. The book also includes a critical introduction that rethinks Umrao Jaan Ada and the Urdu literary milieu of the late-nineteenth-century Lucknow courtesan.