Broken Threads

An extraordinary history of Mishal Husain’s four grandparents, whose lives were shaped by the tumultuous politics and prejudices of empire, war and partition.



In this narrative odyssey that traces the complexities of her own ancestry, Mishal Husain sheds incredible light on a landmark historical period. Mary, a devout Catholic of Anglo-Indian parentage, leaves a struggling family to train as a nurse. Tahirah was born to middle-class Muslim parents and grows up with an emphasis on education and aspiration. Mumtaz steps away from everything and everyone he knows to train as a doctor, while Shahid finds purpose and success as a Sandhurst cadet.


This gripping family history follows a nation becoming ever more divided in the face of social inequality, civil disobedience and the Second World War. Two centuries of British rule in South Asia come to a bloody end with the birth of independent India and the new state of Pakistan, dividing families and communities while leaving a legacy of distrust, tension and conflict that endures today.


In constructing a warm and vivid portrait of an exceptional family, Broken Threads confronts the acute sense of loss brought on by partition, the rupturing of cross-border relationships, and the resulting shift in identities.