Sophia : princess, suffragette, revolutionary / Anita Anand.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anand, Anita, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Duleep Singh, Sophia Alexandra, 1876-1948.

Duleep Singh, Sophia Alexandra.

Princesses--India--Biography.

Princesses.

Revolutionaries--India--Biography.

Revolutionaries.

Suffragists.

India.

Suffragists--India--Biography.

India--History--British occupation, 1765-1947.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 416 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Other Title:

Princess, suffragette, revolutionary

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury, 2015.

Summary:

In 1876 Sophia Duleep Singh was born into Indian royalty. Her father, Maharajah Duleep Singh, was heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, one of the greatest empires of the Indian subcontinent, a realm that stretched from the lush Kashmir Valley to the craggy foothills of the Khyber Pass and included the mighty cities of Lahore and Peshawar. It was a territory irresistible to the British, who plundered everything, including the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond. Exiled to England, the dispossessed Maharajah transformed his estate at Elveden in Suffolk into a Moghul palace, its grounds stocked with leopards, monkeys and exotic birds. Sophia, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, was raised a genteel aristocratic Englishwoman: presented at court, afforded grace and favor lodgings at Hampton Court Palace and photographed wearing the latest fashions for the society pages. But when, in secret defiance of the British government, she travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary. Sophia transcended her heritage to devote herself to battling injustice and inequality, a far cry from the life to which she was born. Her causes were the struggle for Indian Independence, the fate of the lascars, the welfare of Indian soldiers in the First World War--and, above all, the fight for female suffrage. She was bold and fearless, attacking politicians, putting herself in the front line and swapping her silks for a nurse's uniform to tend wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefields. Meticulously researched and passionately written, this enthralling story of the rise of women and the fall of empire introduces an extraordinary individual and her part in the defining moments of recent British and Indian history

In 1876 Sophia Duleep Singh was born into Indian royalty. Her father, Maharajah Duleep Singh, was heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, one of the greatest empires of the Indian subcontinent, a realm that stretched from the lush Kashmir Valley to the craggy foothills of the Khyber Pass and included the mighty cities of Lahore and Peshawar. It was a territory irresistible to the British, who plundered everything, including the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond. Exiled to England, the dispossessed Maharajah transformed his estate at Elveden in Suffolk into a Moghul palace, its grounds stocked with leopards, monkeys and exotic birds. Sophia, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, was raised a genteel aristocratic Englishwoman: presented at court, afforded grace and favor lodgings at Hampton Court Palace and photographed wearing the latest fashions for the society pages. But when, in secret defiance of the British government, she travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary. Sophia transcended her heritage to devote herself to battling injustice and inequality, a far cry from the life to which she was born"--Jacket.

Contents:

Part I Sophia's Childhood and History, 1876-1898

1 Roots of Rebellion 3

2 Do Not Be Conspicuous 26

3 The Suffolk Mahal 41

4 The Fall 52

5 Scramble for India 67

6 The Old Nature Rises 83

7 Polishing the Diamond 103

Part II The Revolutionary Years, 1898-1914

8 A Thoroughly English Girl 127

9 The Cubs Come Home 147

10 Patron of Lost Souls 162

11 The Princess and the Madman 176

12 The Blood is Up 184

13 India Awake! 201

14 The Lost Princess 221

15 The Hampton Court Harridan 237

16 A Familiar Enemy 258

17 We Have No Hold 275

18 Indian Clubs 291

Part III WAR AND PEACE, 1914-1948

19 The Lady Vanishes 305

20 Such Troublesome Times 326

21 A Solemn Promise 354.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page [398]-401) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Beardwood Fund bookplate.

ISBN:

1632860813

9781632860811

OCLC:

881092758