The ancient whore, the handmaiden of dimly remembered Hindu kings, the courtesan of Mughal emperors', the 'Paris of the East', Lahore is more than the grandeur of Mughal forts and gardens, mosques and mausoleums; the jewel colours of everlasting spring. It is also the city of poets, the city of love, longing, sin and splendour. This anthology brings together verse and prose: essays, stories, chronicles and profiles by people who have shared a relationship with Lahore. From the mystical poems of Madho Lal Hussain and Bulleh Shah to Iqbal's ode and Faiz's lament, from Maclagan and Aijazuddin's historical treatises and Kipling's 'chronicles' to Samina Quraeshi's intricate portraits of the Old City and Irfan Husain's delightful account of Lahori cuisine, City of Sin and Splendour is a marriage of the sacred and profane. While Pran Nevile paints a vivid sketch of Lahore's Hira Mandi, Shahnaz Kureshy brings alive the legend of Anarkali and Khalid Hasan pays a tribute to the late 'melody queen' Nur Jehan. Mohsin Hamid's essay on exile, Bina Shah's account of the Karachi vs Lahore debate and Emma Duncan's piece on elections are essential to the understanding of modern-day Lahore. But the city is also about Lahore remembered. Ved Mehta and Krishen Khanna write about 'going back' as Khushwant Singh writes about his pre-Partition years in Lahore. Sara Suleri's memories of her hometown, the landscapes of Bapsi Sidhwa's fiction, Khaled Ahmed's homage to Intezar Hussain and Urvashi Butalia's Ranamama are tributes to memory as much as they are tributes to remarkable lives and unforgettable places. Including fiction old and new—from Manto and Chughtai to Ashfaq Ahmed and Zulfikar Ghose; Saad Ashraf and Sorayya Khan to Mohsin Hamid and Rukhsana Ahmad, City of Sin and Splendour is a sumptuous collection that reflects the city it celebrates.

拉合尔是古老的妓女，是记忆中印度教国王的婢女，是莫卧儿皇帝的宫女，是 "东方的巴黎"，它不仅仅是莫卧儿城堡和花园、清真寺和陵墓的壮观，也是永恒的春天的宝石色。它也是诗人的城市，是爱、渴望、罪恶和辉煌的城市。这本选集汇集了诗文和散文：散文、故事、编年史和与拉合尔有共同关系的人的简介。从Madho Lal Hussain和Bulleh Shah的神秘诗歌到Iqbal的颂歌和Faiz的哀歌，从Maclagan和Aijazuddin的历史论文和Kipling的 "编年史 "到Samina Quraeshi对老城的复杂描写和Irfan Husain对拉合尔美食的愉快描述，《罪恶与辉煌之城》是神圣与世俗的结合。普兰-内维尔（Pran Nevile）对拉合尔的希拉-曼迪（Hira Mandi）进行了生动的勾勒，沙纳兹-库雷希（Shahnaz Kureshy）将阿纳卡利的传奇故事娓娓道来，而哈立德-哈桑则向已故的 "旋律女王 "努尔-杰汉致敬。Mohsin Hamid关于流亡的文章、Bina Shah关于卡拉奇与拉合尔辩论的叙述以及Emma Duncan关于选举的文章对于理解现代的拉合尔是至关重要的。但这座城市也是关于记忆中的拉合尔。Ved Mehta和Krishen Khanna写到了 "回到过去"，Khushwant Singh写到了他在拉合尔的分裂前岁月。Sara Suleri对家乡的回忆，Bapsi Sidhwa小说中的风景，Khaled Ahmed对Intezar Hussain的致敬，以及Urvashi Butalia的Ranamama，都是对记忆的赞美，也是对杰出的生活和难忘的地方的赞美。包括新旧小说--从曼托和丘特伊到阿什法克-艾哈迈德和佐勒菲卡尔-高斯；从萨德-阿什拉夫和索拉亚-汗到穆赫辛-哈米德和鲁克萨纳-艾哈迈德，《罪恶与辉煌之城》是一部反映其庆祝的城市的丰盛文集。