Letters From India

By Emily Eden and Eleanor Eden

Book Overview

Eleanor and Emily Eden, sisters of Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India, offer a vivid and witty account of their travels in India in the early 19th century. Their letters offer an insider's view of the complex social and political landscape of colonial India, as well as a fascinating glimpse into the lives of British expatriates during this period. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of India or the British Empire.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1020440171
• ISBN13: 9781020440175
• Release Date: July 2023
• Publisher: Legare Street Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Enthralling account of life in India

These wonderful letters were writtne by Emily Eden as she travelled with her brother George, who was Governor-General of India in the late 1830s. It is clear from these letters that she was not one of those very enthusiastic lady travellers of the period, but the letters are crammed with humour and fascinating observations on Indian life. She has a more symnpathetic attitude towards the Indians than one might expect of someone of her era. As the sister of the Governor-General she is constantly being given lavish presents of fabulous jewellery etc, which have to be handed over the the East Indian Company, I much admire the stoicism with which she accepts this, in her place I'd be tempted to hang onto some of those gorgeous jewells and let the company go hang. Readers of the Flashman novels will recognise some familiar characters in this book, particularly an appearance by the woman who afterwards became lola Montez. There are some hilarious incidents described, as when they think someone's been carried off by a leopard, when they all go rushing to see they find he's just having anightmare. The letters are full of wonderful descriptions, fascinating characters, lots of humour and plenty of dramatic incidents. The most absorbing collection of letters I've ever read.