Letters from India

by Hon. Emily Eden

Description

Emily Eden's childhood prepared her well for her role as companion to her brother, the Governor-General of India. Outwardly all that a minor aristocrat should be, the observant and sharp-tongued Eden (1797-1869) never censored her letters for the sake of diplomacy. This two-volume collection of letters, edited by her niece Eleanor Eden, was published posthumously in 1872 after the success of her 1866 collection, Up the Country (also reissued in this series). In Volume 2, which also contains show more several letters from Emily's sister Frances (1801-49), the round of engagements, days in an opulent houseboat, and biting observations on Anglo-Indian society, continue, but the generally cheerful tone begins to darken: 'It is very odd that no letters whatever have come from Cabul for three weeks, but the reports are all favourable' she notes, at the outset of the disastrous Anglo-Afghan War, which led to her brother's dismissal from India. show less

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thorold 2,655 reviews

Not the best collection of Miss Eden's letters to start with: this selection omits the letters already published in Up the Country, leaving a three-year gap, and it is rather crudely edited by "Her Niece", with most of the recipients' names and many of the other names in the letters redacted out. As a result it's often not easy to follow what's going on. On the other hand, Miss Eden is a lively and interesting commentator on colonial India in the 1830s. Her account , from the privileged viewpoint of the governor-general's sister, makes fascinating reading.

Dec 30, 2012 (Edited)

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