Nosrat-ed-Dowleh was Minister of Foreign Affairs under Ahmad Shah Qajar; architect of the ill-fated Anglo-Persian Agreement (1919); and a candidate for accession to the Qajar throne after Soltan Ahmad Shah’s exile and removal. In 1921, during the coup which brought Reza Shah to power, he spent three months in the Qasr-e-Qajar jail with his father and younger brother, Abbas Mirza Salar Lashgar, while Reza Shah consolidated his power base. During his stay at the prison, which he had helped build, he often boasted about its cleanliness. Nosrat-ed-Dowleh also translated Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis during this time. Following his release, he continued his public life for nine more years, serving as a member of parliament, provincial governor, minister of justice, and minister of finance.