Women of the Raj
The role of the women of the Raj was to create a replica of British society in the face of almost insuperable difficulties. Exiled to strange land, surrounded by people whose language, customs and religion were mysterious and for the most part alien, how did these women react and live - how did they adjust, if at all, to life in bungalows with teams of servants, to repeated moves and heart-breaking separations from their families, to heat, illness, loneliness and boredom, to holidays in hill-stations and the unforgettable Indian landscapes? Looking at the whole of Britain's involvement in India over three and a half centuries, but particularly the period of empire from 1850s to 1947, Margaret MacMillan provides answers to these questions - from the women's own letters and memoirs, and from novels and interviews with survivors, including her own grandmother. Complemented by a wide ranging selection of contemporary illustrations, this text vividly brings to life the experiences of these women for contemporary readers.