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

Very well written and researched - a fascinating insight to that part of history

Such an interesting time in history. This book was well written and very enjoyable.

The book looks like it will be interesting but I haven’t started reading it yet because the print is very small.Headaches ahead.

This book was required reading in an Imperialism class I had and while the book was interesting, the way it was written can sometimes be hard to follow. The author jumps around between a lot of different women so that it took me a couple rereads of chapters to realize who was who. It also hops around in timeline between early 1800's and the end of British rule in India.

This book was fascinating. MacMillan brings tons of research to the table but she writes with the eye of a novelist. The small details - a block of ice under the table at a formal dinner party to keep everyone's feet cool, the medicinal roots of the drink we think of as Gin and Tonic, the dreadful realities of circa-1830 ocean travel - give the story life. Highly readable, and highly informative!

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.

Like 'em or loathe 'em, memsahibs played a vital role in the maintaining of the British Raj. This book is packed with first-hand accounts from letters and diaries, that "tell it how it was" - frightening or exhilarating, uncomfortable or exotic, depending on each woman's imagination and strength of character. Quotations (invariably hilarious or naive)from magazines, periodicals or "How to ...." manuals throw further light on the socially complex, often perplexing, but always busy lives that the women of the Raj had to live.My husband was a "child of the Raj" and in reading this to him he is reminded of so much in his early years.The photos add immensely to the author's picture of life then; snaps from family albums - all intimate and particular.

Love everything about theRaj history This book is one of the best!

Brilliant!

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

good

Great book and just what I expect from Margaret MacMillan.