The British in India: A Social History of the Raj Hardcover – November 13, 2018

If, like me, you enjoy reading about exotic places and eccentric British characters, this extraordinary book is for you. Where else can you read about ingabangas, the origin of the words "furlough" and "thunderbox," or Naga gardeners who work naked except for "bathing-drawers" worn as turbans, or British women who "went native" and became the reincarnation of a goddess among the Zemi Nagas people, or what sex-starved officers got up to with papayas when they weren't "bashing the bishop?" Who were the "toddy tappers? How did bored Brits on the long sea voyage to India while away the hours playing "Are You There, Moriarty?" What was the fate of the Srinager Sodomy Club? And so on, and so on. David Gilmour does an excellent job of letting Brits of all classes and occupations across three centuries speak for themselves. One quibble: In a footnote on page 441, Sir David writes that the first draft of T. E. Lawrence's book, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, was "stolen on a train." In fact, Lawrence seems to have forgotten the MS in a railway cafeteria on his way back to Oxford from London in 1919. When he phoned back to the station, the bag could not be found, and was, in that sense, stolen. See Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorized Biography, p. 627. Picky, picky.

Gilmour certainly went through the archives to research this tome, however it seems strange that he included very few documents and recollections from Indians and AngloIndians.The British were there for 300 years and it changed both India and is still changing Britain. The coming of the Raj and the Rebellion in 1857 were milestones. The life for many was short and a hardship, but considering the times and local conditions was probably in keeping with the general overlook. It wasn’t all high tea and tennis.I can relate to the fact that many have been overseas for an extended period of time cannot easily transition to life back home.

When I ordered this book, it was through a sense of duty as an experienced high school world history teacher who nevertheless didn't know many details about the Raj period. I put off reading its hefty 535 pages (before glossary and notes, etc.) for many months. But once I started it, I found Gilmore's account fascinating, easy to read, and extremely informative, giving the reader at least some understanding of the era. Since it focuses on the British in India, in depth coverage of Indian reactions doesn't appear, but that wasn't the purpose. Although quite detailed, with many sections and subheadings with anecdotes, these all serve a purpose, and the writer's style made it easy for me to progress. I learned a lot and my interest was perked.

This is a well written social history of the British in India.

If you are seeking a book about Indian history, this is not it. In its 900 plus pages, this book makes scant mention of Indian history. It’s about the appx 250k Brits who built and managed the empire between the 1600s and Partition. The author is a baronet who attended Eton and Oxford, and he concludes that the empire really wasn’t so bad. He goes into mind numbing genealogical detail about various Brits. I mostly learned about how the upper class defends and ignores the legacy of colonialism.

This is just what I was looking for; it illuminates the manners and daily lives of those reddish-brown Colonels and Captains with ailing livers who pop up all over 19th-century novels and pulp fiction.

There is no continuous narrative; the strength of the book is describing life of the occupiers. How did they get there? How did they live? Who decided to go there. How bad was the weather? If there was not a British woman for a man, what then?

I have been very interested in the impact on Indian History and Culture due to the Colonial incursion. This book is brilliant, funny and insightful. I now must read everything he’s written!It’s not the books fault, but I had been promised a signed copy and my copy was not signed.

The book is what one would expect from David Gilmour. What I like are the references to the eccentricities of the British abroad.For example"Lt Pearce was appalled at a gaffe, when after a curry in the mess, he offered to toast a superior officer with wine, when it should have been beer."I think in that sentence it demonstrates what we would regard as the ridiculous protocol in class ridden Britain.The behaviour of the British officers verges on the absurd."In the mess even ring a ring a roses became aa “fairly dangerous game and there were frequent casualties, sometimes serious one.One of the most dangerous games was “Bounding brothers of the Bosphorus”. This required participants to do somersaults over a desk and the land o their backs on a pile of upturned furniture.Fortunately for our self respect there are examples of the British also having a conscience and trying to help the local inhabitants, albeit in a very paternalistic manner.I have always had a seaming admiration for Viceroy Curzon. He was one of the British rulers who instigated irrigation projects.The book is a very thorough account of life for the British in India and is to be commended.

David Gilmour's book is an important addition to the iterature on the social life of the British in India.His book provides a rich tapestry of their everyday experiences during their stay in India of over two centuries.

Retraces how our British ancestral served in India.

A mixture of historical facts and ripping yarns. How did we control one quarter of the planet whilst treating everyone else as inferior?

This is a book of exemplary research, which brings to life the world of the British in the Raj. The historical overview is animated by anecdotes about individual expatriates, and it is these personal stories, together with the writer's witty and relaxed style, which make the book so eminently readable.