Lotfollah Taraghi (Persian: لطف‌الله ترقی), born 1903 [1282 SH] in Qom, Iran, and died in 1973 [1352 SH] in Tehran, Iran,[1] was an Iranian scholar (adib), journalist, publisher, lawyer, and legislative drafting officer.[2][3] He is best known for his historical romance short story collection Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs, which inspired the television series Jeyran. He is the father of the Iranian author Goli Taraghi.

Career as journalist

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Lotfollah Taraghi was a well-known landowner, and in the 1940s he owned most of the Mahmoodieh area in Tehran.[4] He was patriotic in political orientation and has been described as one of the five most famous Iranian journalists during the 1941–57 period.[5] In 1929, he launched a social and literary journal, Taraghi ("Progress"), and continued as its director and chief editor until its closure in 1965.[6][7] He also founded and edited the literary journal Āsiā-ye javān (Young Asia) for some time.[8]

Historical fiction writings

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Jeyran. Illustration on the book cover of the first edition of Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs (1960)

Lotfollah Taraghi had a deep interest in historical novels and stories.[2] He is primarily known for his popular short story collection Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs ('Eshqbāzihā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh), which depicts life in the harem of the Qajar king Naseroddin Shah. The stories focus on Jeyran, the king's first mistress and later his favorite wife.[9]

Taraghi's book Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs ('Eshqbāzihā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh) provided the inspiration for the Iranian historical romance television series Jeyran (جیران, 2022), written and directed by Hassan Fathi.[10]

Selected works

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  • The Djinn in the Hamam of Sangalaj (Jenn dar hammām-e Sangalaj) (1928)[6]
  • The Indian Lady (Bānu-ye hendi) (1930)[6]
  • Baghdad Nights: Harun al-Rashid's Love for the Daughter of the Iranian General Azarin (Shab-hā-ye Baghdād: Deldādegi-ye Hārun be doxtar-e Āzarin sardār-e irāni) (2 vols.) (1952)[2]
  • Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs ('Eshqbāzihā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh) (1960). Re-published several times as Jeyran and the Secrets of Naseroddin Shah's Harem (Jeyrān va asrār-e haramsarā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh)[2]

References

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  1. ^ Nasrollah Shifteh, Zendegināme va mobārezāt-e siāsi-ye Mohammad Mas'ud, ruznāme-mard-e emruz (The Life and Political Struggle of Mohammad Masud, A Journalist of Today), Tehran, 1984, p. 355.
  2. ^ a b c d Hasan Abedini, Farhang-e Dāstān-nevisān-e Irān (Lexicon of Iranian Short Story Writers), Tehran, 1990, p. 54. Cite error: The named reference "Abedini" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ "گلی ترقی از خودش و آثارش گفت/ "همه چیز برای من قصه است"". Mehr News Agency. January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ^ Dariush Pourkian, The Battered Generation, London, 2022, chapter 1.
  5. ^ Iran Nameh: Journal of the Foundation for Iranian Studies, vol. 16, Bethesda, 1998.
  6. ^ a b c Goulia Ghardashkhani, Another Place: Identity, Space, and Transcultural Signification in Goli Taragqi's Fiction, Leiden, 2018, p. 2.
  7. ^ Mir Ansari, Ali (September 2019). "Taraghi (ترقی)". Great Islamic Encyclopedia. Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. ^ Franklin Lewis, "Review: Winter Sleep by Goli Taraqqi (translated by Francine Mahak)", Iranian Studies, vol. 32: 1, 1999, p. 167.
  9. ^ Staci Gem Scheiwiller, Liminalities of Gender and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Iranian Photography Desirous Bodies, New York & London, 2016, p. 44.
  10. ^ Ghavizari, Narges (September 2022). "بهترین دیالوگ های سریال جیران". Filimo Shot. Retrieved 22 January 2023.