Women of the Raj

The Mothers, Wives and Daughters of the British Empire in India

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A vivid cultural and social history of the daughters, sisters, mothers and wives of the men at the centre of the Raj, by the distinguished historian and Reith Lecturer 2018 Margaret MacMillan

The apparent glamour of the Indian Raj continues to fascinate long after the British quit the subcontinent. But along with the beauty of the Indian landscape and the privilege of servants and holidays in hill stations, British women in that vanished world faced challenges and fears that came from being an alien ruling minority. These women were at the heart of the imperial enterprise. It was their role to support the men's work, raise the children and attempt to replicate British society thousands of miles from home. They struggled in the face of heat, illness, loneliness and boredom as well as different customs, languages and religions. The distinguished historian and bestselling author Margaret MacMillan, drawing on letters and memoirs, novels and interviews, brings vividly to life their experiences humdrum, extraordinary, light-hearted, tragic through the century of the Raj, from the 1850s to Indian independence in 1947.

Edition type: New Edition
Extent: 320 pp
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: 56
Publication date: 2018-01-25
Size: 19.8 x 12.9 cm
ISBN: 9780500293744
Preface to the New Edition • Introduction • 1. The Voyage Out • 2. First Impressions • 3. The Society of the Exiles • 4. The Land of Exile • 5. Facts of Life • 6. Women in Danger • 7. Courtship and Marriage • 8. Children: Outposts of Empire • 9. Housekeeping • 10. Social Life and Amusements • 11. On Holiday • 12. Unconventional Women

Press Reviews

MacMillan has that essential quality of the historian, a narrative gift
Daily Telegraph

A clear-eyed, affectionate account
Mail on Sunday

Well researched and thoroughly enjoyable
Evening Standard

As fascinating as it is unsparing … an engaging read that brings to life an under-explored side of colonial history
The Lady

About the Author

Margaret MacMillan is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. Her books include The War that Ended Peace and Peacemakers, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize, and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice.

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