Mistress of the Persian Boarding House Paperback by Marina Nemat

Product Details

• Publisher: Viking (2026-07-14)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 264 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781037803314
• Item Weight: 243.81 grams
• Dimensions: 20.98 x 13.92 x 1.75 cm

A stirring, intimate novel inspired by the life of Marina’s paternal grandmother.

Born into the elegant comfort of upper-class Russian society at the turn of the twentieth century, Zina yearns for independence and a life she can call her own. After the Bolsheviks topple the Czarist government, she narrowly escapes with her husband and adopted daughter. But once they arrive in Tehran, tragedy strikes again, and she finds herself alone and impoverished.

At a modest boarding house, Zina must start over. There she meets women from Russia and Iran—outsiders like her, seeking refuge. They support one another through childbirth, illness, political unrest, and a pandemic. Amid the turmoil, Zina’s path crosses that of the ambitious Reza Khan, future shah of Iran. Their relationship becomes a welcome escape, enduring decades of hardship and sorrow before culminating in a heart-wrenching climax.

Sweeping, tender, and unforgettable, Mistress of the Persian Boarding House is a moving portrait of the enduring bonds forged between women who choose each other as family.

About the Author

MARINA NEMAT is the internationally bestselling author of Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran. Arrested at age sixteen in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran, Marina was imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison for two years. She emigrated to Canada in 1991 and lives with her husband and her dog, Luna, in a small cottage in eastern Ontario.