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A review by roxanamalinachirila
She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen: British Women in India by Katie Hickman
3.0
For the life of me, I can't remember how I first came across this book, and it's really bugging me. Oh, well.
This is an interesting one - a very narrow history of British women who travelled to India during the time of the East India Company or under the official rule of the British Crown.
It excels at highlighting the experiences of particular women. There's no end to anecdotes about their lives, with some commentary about general expectations of what life had been like for them. But in focusing on details, "She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen" loses some of the greater picture. The exact situation of British people as a whole on the subcontinent can be inferred to a certain point, but it's never clearly stated. I assumed it's presumed to be known.
It's a very informative book, but I'd recommend already knowing about the history of India before starting it.
This is an interesting one - a very narrow history of British women who travelled to India during the time of the East India Company or under the official rule of the British Crown.
It excels at highlighting the experiences of particular women. There's no end to anecdotes about their lives, with some commentary about general expectations of what life had been like for them. But in focusing on details, "She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen" loses some of the greater picture. The exact situation of British people as a whole on the subcontinent can be inferred to a certain point, but it's never clearly stated. I assumed it's presumed to be known.
It's a very informative book, but I'd recommend already knowing about the history of India before starting it.