Alex Rutherford is the collective pen name of two writers, Diana Preston and her husband Michael Preston.
[
] "Rutherford" is known for the six-book historical fiction series ''
Empire of the Moghul
''Empire of the Moghul'' is a series of historical fiction novels written by Alex Rutherford (the pen name for Diana and Michael Preston). The series consists of six volumes covering the rise and height of the Moghul Empire in medieval India. ...
''.
The Prestons studied at the
University of Oxford, reading history and English respectively.
Their research into the building of the
Taj Mahal led them to explore the early history of the dynasty which built it – the
Mughal Empire. Over the years they have also retraced the steps of the Mughals from the
Ferghana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
in
Kyrgyzstan – home to the first Moghul emperor, the boy-king Babur – to Iran and to the blue domes and minarets of
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
in Uzbekistan, across the red deserts to the
Oxus River
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
, over the
Hindu Kush to
Kabul and Afghanistan and down through the
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...
to the plains of northern India.
''Empire of the Moghul'' consists of six books which is about the epic rise and fall of one of the world’s most powerful, opulent, and glamorous dynasties across 200 years.
[
][
]
Until the series they had done only serious non-fiction, and it was their first attempt at historical fiction. They decided to create a new persona to make a distinction between their earlier writing and this new series. "Rutherford" came from the Nobel Laureate
Ernest Rutherford, and Alex was chosen as a name that could be male or female.
Books by Diana and Michael Preston under the pseudonym "Alex Rutherford"
* ''Empire of the Moghul: Raiders from the North''
* ''Empire of the Moghul: Brothers at War''
* ''Empire of the Moghul: Ruler of the World''
* ''Empire of the Moghul: The Tainted Throne''
* ''Empire of the Moghul: The Serpent's Tooth''
Books , Alex Rutherford , Reviews , Time Out Mumbai
/ref>
* ''Empire of the Moghul: Traitors in the Shadows''
*
* ''A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier''
* ''Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire''
* ''A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time: The Story of the Taj Mahal''
* ''Fortune's Soldier''
* ''Fortune's Heir''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Alex
Living people
Pseudonymous writers
British historical novelists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Writing duos