William Dalrymple is one of Britain's greatest travel writers; his
descriptions of his journeys in Central Asia, India and the Middle
East are unsurpassed for their grasp of telling details and
sensitivity to place and history. Now, in his first work of
straight history, he has brought back to life the remarkable story
of the English Resident in Hyderabad in the late 18th century who
fell in love with, and married, a high-born Muslim girl, and held
fast to her despite the condemnation of the ruling East India
Company. But, interesting though the story of James Achilles
Kirkpatrick and Khair un-Nissa is, the core of the book is the
wider subject of Anglo-Indian relationships at the time. Dalrymple
demonstrates how early contact between East and West was informal
and open-minded - there are numerous portraits of 18th-century
Englishmen dressed in Mughal garb, and Western scholars were
enthralled by the subcontinent's rich literary and religious
traditions. But as the East India Company tightened its hold and
turned its energies to subduing and ruling rather than trading, the
divisions between English and Indian deepened, and senior Company
officials began to dismiss native beliefs as foolish superstition
and disapprove of inter-racial mixing. Dalrymple poignantly quotes
contemporary letters by Englishmen with children by Indian women in
which they agonize over whether their sons' and daughters' skin is
light enough for them to achieve a reasonable position in
Anglo-Indian society, or whether they should be sent back to
England - which, ironically, was less prejudiced. This book suffers
from the usual faults of a first work of history. Dalrymple is
determined to include as much of his prodigious research as
possible, and the result is a profusion of fascinating but
irrelevant snippets of information that at times seriously distract
from the main narrative. The range of characters is enormous, and
it's easy for the reader not as comfortable in the period as
Dalrymple to forget that Abdul Lateef and Shushtari are the same
person, or why exactly Khair un-Nissa's female relations were so
much keener on her liaison with Kirkpatrick than her male
relations. But these are only minor points. This is a fascinating
book that sheds a fresh light on a period that tends to get
forgotten in comparison with the stereotypical picture of the Raj,
and demonstrates how easy it is for what may seem to be polar
opposites (East/West, Muslim/Christian, ruler/subject) to merge
into new and flexible identities. More than anything, this is a
plea for the racial, religious and cultural tolerance that is
needed as much now as it ever has been. (Kirkus UK)
'White Mughals' is the romantic and ultimately tragic tale of a passionate love affair that crossed and transcended all the cultural, religious and political boundaries of its time.
James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad when in 1798 he glimpsed Kahir un-Nissa – 'Most excellent among Women' – the great-niece of the Nizam's Prime Minister and a descendant of the Prophet. Kirkpatrick had gone out to India as an ambitious soldier in the army of the East India Company, eager to make his name in the conquest and subjection of the subcontinent. Instead, he fell in love with Khair and overcame many obstacles to marry her – not least of which was the fact that she was locked away in purdah and engaged to a local nobleman. Eventually, while remaining Resident, Kirkpatrick converted to Islam, and according to Indian sources even became a double-agent working for the Hyderabadis against the East India Company.
It is a remarkable story, involving secret assignations, court intrigue, harem politics, religious and family disputes. But such things were not unknown; from the early sixteenth century, when the Inquisition banned the Portuguese in Goa from wearing the dhoti, to the eve of the Indian mutiny, the 'white Mughals' who wore local dress and adopted Indian ways were a source of embarrassments to successive colonial administrations. William Dalrymple unearths such colourful figures as 'Hindoo Stuart', who travelled with his own team of Brahmins to maintain his temple of idols, and who spent many years trying to persuade the memsahibs of Calcutta to adopt the sari; and Sir David Ochterlony, Kirkpatrick's counterpart in Delhi, who took all thirteen of his wives out for evening promenades, each on the back of their own elephant.
In 'White Mughals', William Dalrymple discovers a world almost entirely unexplored by history, and places at its centre a compelling tale of love, seduction and betrayal. It possesses all the sweep and resonance of a great nineteenth-century novel, set against a background of shifting alliances and the manoeuvring of the great powers, the mercantile ambitions of the British and the imperial dreams of Napoleon. 'White Mughals', the product of five years' writing and research, triumphantly confirms Dalrymple's reputation as one of the finest writers at work today.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
