An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah by Empress Farah Pahlavi

In her memoir “An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah,” Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran recounts her life with the last Shah of Iran, including their arranged marriage and the rise and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty. It is an insightful chronicle of an unimaginable life, one that mixes glory with tragedy, pain with love, and loyalty with hesitation.

The memoir begins in 1958, when the young Farah Diba first met her future husband, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, during a dinner at the palace in Tehran. At the age of 22, Farah was chosen by the Shah’s grandmother to marry the Shah and become his Queen. Despite her initial doubts, Farah eventually fell in love with the Shah, and their wedding was an extravagant affair broadcast to the nation.

As Empress of Iran, Farah was forced to inhabit a world of privilege and power that often felt inhumane. Behind closed doors, the Empress was a spectator to an elaborate display of royalty and a life of pomp and circumstance. She recalls the glittering balls and state visits, often in the presence of royalty such as the king of Jordan or the emperor of Ethiopia. Through Farah’s eyes, the reader can get a glimpse into the bygone era of the Pahlavi dynasty and the grandeur of life in the Tehran palace.

But it