The Last Prince of Bengal

Author Lyn Innes in conversation with Dr Robin McLachlan OAM Growing up in rural NSW in the 1940s Lyn Innes discovered photographs of her grandfather, an Indian prince and an artist and heard stories of his childhood. This began her lengthy quest to uncover the truths behind a contradictory and complicated family history. The Last Prince of Bengal is the fascinating story of her great-grandfather, the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, and his marriage to an English hotel maid, Sarah Vennell. They lived together in London for ten years and had six children. The youngest, Nusrat, was Lyn’s grandfather who emigrated to Australia in 1925. He and his son Savile spent the first year as students of the Agricultural Experiment Farm School in Bathurst before purchasing a property in the Capertee Valley. In addition to personal stories the book provides insights into relationships between the British Empire and India between 1840 and 1940.