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

Brilliant!

It brought the whole Raj experience of women in India alive for me.I couldn’t put it down.A well-written insight into a fascinating chapter of history.It’s like an Anne de Courcy novel on steroids.I suppose we think that we wouldn’t behave like the British did in India but here I am reading a book that is mainly describing the lives of elite women and not really saying much about the lives of ordinary soldiers’s wives and other people lower down the pecking order. Are we still elitist?

A fascinating picture of life when Great Britain ruled a huge part of the planet,seen through the lives of those regarded as secondary to the male of the species.

Interesting read. Much carried on research and anecdotes focusing mainly of the past imperial privileged classes that I find heavily biased and indifferent to those of Domiciled and of the Eurasian descendants, the true colonials The Anglo Indians that upheld the empire flag and gained very little credibility, support or recognition.

Full of interesting anecdotes about the Raj. Including domestic arrangements and the long journey from England to India. Very readable: definitely recommended.

Fascinating book, anybody who is interested in India's,eg the Raj past would enjoy this book. I loved reading it and am very glad I bought it. Would recommend it, the five stars are well deserved, as it is very well written.UKR

excellent balance between their indolence and hard work....informative and well researched. still think of centipedes a foot long!,

Great fun. very informative. Fascinating stories.Rather a lame and unnecessary conclusionBut highly recommended

Fascinating to know how the British women adapted to the Indian climate and custom in the 19th and 20th centuries, and how India has progressed since then. Caste system was very pronounced , which they found very strange - the Muslim khansamas, Hindu dhobi, the mochi, ayah etc.

Livro interessante sobre as condições de vida das mulheres inglesas na Índia durante o império.

Il libro è davvero bellissimo, pieno di notizie e scritto molto bene, ed è arrivato puntualmente. Grazie mille Umberto Simone

I loved reading this! I never knew what the Raj referred to - England's rule over India. This book explained why Ghandi was quoted as saying, "Your Jesus I love; it's Christians I don't like." Why would he or anyone like Christians when the English who lived in India under the system of the Raj were the farthest thing from accurately representing Christ or authentic Christianity. If they attended church services they barely tolerated sermons that extended beyond 15-minutes and they looked down on Christian missionaries! The women of the Raj were commoners from England who came to India by way of marriage to soldiers serving in India. They re-created an autocratic social system imitating the higher classes in England pretending to be of them because labor was cheap. None of these women would have had servants in England - they themselves might have been servants in order to survive. The entire system was a mockery and when India was given its freedom from Imperial rule, the women of the Raj had a rude awakening in facing a return to life in England for those who did return. Fascinating read that explained many questions I've had.

これはpaul scottの名作raj quartet４部作を読む際の必須の副読本です。この本を読んでおけば、raj quartetの中で、日本人には決して理解できない小物や人間関係のデテールの機微が、よりよく理解でき、この大作のおもしろさを十分に味わえること疑いなしです。ここで描かれているのは、夫の妻としてインドに住むことになった女性の目を通しての、偉大なconfidence trickであった英国のインド支配の解明です。わずか数万人の英国人で３億人の国を支配したこの芸当は、決してむき出しの武力の行使だけで成し遂げられたものではありません。そこにはこの支配を可能にした影響力の見事なしかし巧妙な行使とそれを支えるdignityの維持が不可欠であったわけで、この影響力を政治や経済ではなく日常の生活の中で、示威し維持しなければなかった英国の女性の姿が事細かに描かれます。使用人との関係、そして他の英国人との関係、彼女たちの旅行や趣味などが細かく描写されます。インドの支配機構に参加した英国人はすべてが役人だったわけで、そこでは役職と昇進がすべてを決定します。そして全員が他の参加者の俸給を知っている中では、人間の関心は、一番卑俗的な部分へと向かわざるを経ません。そこに浮かび上がるのはいつも変わることのない英国人の中産階級の不思議な原像です。eurasianとmissionaryの微妙な位置もそれなりに扱われています。不思議なことに、この作品の中で紹介された、「インド人との距離の保ちかたの秘訣」は、技術論として、６０年代のインドにおける日本人社会にも無意識のうちに伝達されていたような記憶が残っています。