Up the Country

These wonderful letters were writtne by Emily Eden as she travelled with her brother George, who was Governor-General of India in the late 1830s. It is clear from these letters that she was not one of those very enthusiastic lady travellers of the period, but the letters are crammed with humour and fascinating observations on Indian life. She has a more symnpathetic attitude towards the Indians than one might expect of someone of her era. As the sister of the Governor-General she is constantly being given lavish presents of fabulous jewellery etc, which have to be handed over the the East Indian Company, I much admire the stoicism with which she accepts this, in her place I'd be tempted to hang onto some of those gorgeous jewells and let the company go hang. Readers of the Flashman novels will recognise some familiar characters in this book, particularly an appearance by the woman who afterwards became lola Montez. There are some hilarious incidents described, as when they think someone's been carried off by a leopard, when they all go rushing to see they find he's just having anightmare. The letters are full of wonderful descriptions, fascinating characters, lots of humour and plenty of dramatic incidents. The most absorbing collection of letters I've ever read.