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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Yes, it is long, and yes, it is richly detailed, but if you have any interest in the time and place, it's worth it all. The hybridization of British and Indian culture was part of the story in Dalrymple's The Anarchy, but here it's revealed in more detail, focusing on the love story between James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the British Resident in Hyderabad, and Khair un-Nissa, great-niece of the Prime Minister. For various reasons, they tried to keep their relationship secret, but all was finally revealed, with dire consequences for them and for their children. Dalrymple has plowed through archives to discover what actually happened to Khair after James's death, and what he has found and scrupulously verified is revealed slowly but surely. Quotes from their letters and diaries made the characters so vivid that I mourned the death of each one of them.
Not so much betrayal, and depending how cynical you are not much love either, but really interesting examination of the changes over time so to speak of Anglo-Indian relationships and the women at the middle of them.
fascinating book about the British in India and how many of the British actually converted to Islam and never left.
Fascinating read. Recommend for anyone wanting to get a glimpse into India in the 1790's.
informative
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
William Dalrymple has achieved the impossible. It is never an easy task to write a thoroughly researched piece of history in the vein of exotic novel. Dalrymple did that in style.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The book threw light on some of the facts of Deccan/Hyderabad we tend to ignore (we are not aware of). Having been associated with Hyderabad since my childhood, the book is even more special. I own the book at much more emotional level.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The book threw light on some of the facts of Deccan/Hyderabad we tend to ignore (we are not aware of). Having been associated with Hyderabad since my childhood, the book is even more special. I own the book at much more emotional level.
This was a good book. I really learned a lot although the text was dense and took a long time to get through. The early years of the British Empire seem to be much more syncretic as a society than the later years when economic level and caste would matter much more than position.
This book focuses on the Kirkpatrick family and whether or not it would have been possible to convert to Islam and marry into the Mughal ruling families. Dalrymple went through many family archival records to do his research so the book reads as a history book rather than something written for the general population. If you pick this up you will learn something.
This book focuses on the Kirkpatrick family and whether or not it would have been possible to convert to Islam and marry into the Mughal ruling families. Dalrymple went through many family archival records to do his research so the book reads as a history book rather than something written for the general population. If you pick this up you will learn something.
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced