Lotfollah Taraghi (
Persian: لطفالله ترقی), born 1903 [1282
SH] in
Qom,
Iran, died 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 collectionNaseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs which inspired the television series
Jeyran. He is the father of the Iranian author
Goli Taraghi.
Career as journalist
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 in 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 was the editor of the literary journal Āsiā-ye javān (Young Asia) for some time.[8]
Historical fiction writings
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.[9] He is primarily known for his popular
short story collectionNaseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs ('Eshqbāzihā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh), which depicts the life in the
harem of the
Qajar king
Naseroddin Shah. The stories are focused on
Jeyran, the king's first
mistress and subsequently favourite wife.[10]
Taraghis book Naseroddin Shah's Love-Affairs ('Eshqbāzihā-ye Nāseroddin Shāh) provided inspiration for the Iranian
historical romance television series
Jeyran (جیران, 2022), written and directed by
Hassan Fathi.[11]
Selected work
The Djinn in the Hamam of Sangalaj (Jenn dar hammām-e Sangalaj) (1928)[12]
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)[14]
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)[15]
References
^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.
^Hasan Abedini, Farhang-e Dāstān-nevisān-e Irān (Lexicon of Iranian Short Story Writers), Tehran, 1990, p. 54.
^Hasan Abedini, Farhang-e Dāstān-nevisān-e Irān (Lexicon of Iranian Short Story Writers), Tehran, 1990, p. 54.
^Staci Gem Scheiwiller, Liminalities of Gender and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Iranian Photography Desirous Bodies, New York & London, 2016, p. 44.