These are some of the books I read before and during the writing of this novel. In addition there were many scholarly (and newspaper) articles, essays, and websites I consulted, which are too numerous to mention. My gratitude to them all. They were immensely helpful. Any faults in the text of the novel are my own.
Vijayanagar—City and Empire: New Currents of Research, Vol. I—Texts and Vol. 2—Reference and Documentation, edited by Anna Libera Dallapiccola in collaboration with Stephanie Zingel-Ave Lallemant
A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761, by Richard M. Eaton
India in the Persianate Age, 1000–1765, by Richard M. Eaton
Beyond Turk and Hindu, edited by David Gilmartin and Bruce B. Lawrence
The Travels of Ibn Battuta
From Indus to Independence—A Trek Through Indian History: Vol. VII, Named for Victory: The Vijayanagar Empire, by Dr. Sanu Kainikara
Toward a New Formation: South Indian Society Under Vijayanagar Rule, by Noboru Karashima
India: A Wounded Civilization, by V. S. Naipaul
A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar, by Sastri K. A. Nilakanta and R. C. Champakalakshmi
Court Life Under the Vijayanagar Rulers, by Madhao P. Patil
Raya: Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara, by Srinivas Reddy
City of Victory, by Ratnakar Sadasyula
Hampi, by Subhadra Sen Gupta, with photographs by Clare Arni
A Forgotten Empire, by Robert Sewell, which also contains his translations of The Narrative of Domingo Paes, written c.1520–22, and The Chronicle of Fernão Nuniz, written c.1535–37