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lizzythecat's review
5.0
I can't stop won't stop talking about this. A truly remarkable life, one that passed into so many significant parts of the 19th and 20th centuries. I know precious little about Indian history, but Sophia has inspired me to learn more.
Hollywood, listen up. This needs to be made into a biopic ON THE DOUBLE. Not only is it an utterly compelling story, but everyone knows you have a white people problem and a man problem (as in, too much of both). Tell Sophia Singh's story. It needs to be heard.
Hollywood, listen up. This needs to be made into a biopic ON THE DOUBLE. Not only is it an utterly compelling story, but everyone knows you have a white people problem and a man problem (as in, too much of both). Tell Sophia Singh's story. It needs to be heard.
ayatichoudhary's review against another edition
5.0
After finishing The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, I wanted to know more about how the future would be for Duleep Singh and if he'll have any children. I found my answers in this book. Sophia is about the life of Sophia Duleep Singh, one of the five daughters of Duleep Singh and the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. After the death of Rani Jindan Kaur, Sophia and her family were barred from visiting India because the British feared another mutiny if they did so. During the initial years of her life, Sophia loved socialising with the elites of London and spent money lavishly on dog shows and designer boutique clothes. But during the Delhi Durbar of 1911, she and her sister Bamba visited India, much against the wishes of the British government. And after that, everything changed. Sophia was awe-inspired by Lala Lajpat Rai, she threw herself into the suffragette movement and remained in it till the end, she volunteered as a nurse during World War 1 and treated the wounded Indian soldiers, she brought back Rani Jindan Kaur's ashes from Nasik and placed them beside Maharaja Ranjit Singh's ashes; Sophia's life was filled with many such revolutionary acts!
As the blurb says, this book is meticulously researched and passionately written. Sophia lived through some of the most important moments of the recent British and Indian history, and they have all been written really well in this book. Sophia was a suffragette and hence the suffragette movement in Britain has been detailed really well in the book. Sophia lived through a hard life, seeing the deaths of her family members but inspite of all this, she was a remarkable woman. The language of the book is slightly like that of a history textbook, but it's the history textbook that we all need. It is a chunky book and there are a lot of photographs included in the book too. Overall, it is a detailed account of the history of the Duleep Singh family.
If you're interested in history, then this is a must-read for you and I highly recommend it!
As the blurb says, this book is meticulously researched and passionately written. Sophia lived through some of the most important moments of the recent British and Indian history, and they have all been written really well in this book. Sophia was a suffragette and hence the suffragette movement in Britain has been detailed really well in the book. Sophia lived through a hard life, seeing the deaths of her family members but inspite of all this, she was a remarkable woman. The language of the book is slightly like that of a history textbook, but it's the history textbook that we all need. It is a chunky book and there are a lot of photographs included in the book too. Overall, it is a detailed account of the history of the Duleep Singh family.
If you're interested in history, then this is a must-read for you and I highly recommend it!
bookishconnections's review
5.0
One of the best books I’ve read all year, inspired by Anita Rani mentioning it in Between the Covers on BBC2.
I learned so much about Maharajah Duleep Singh, Sophia and her siblings.
It astounds me that we never learn about this in history class or generally when talking about the 19th or early 20th Century.
Sophia’s contributions to the Suffragette cause and toward Independence for India were way ahead of her time.
She was truly an inspiration to many and I’m glad Anita Anand has shared her story with the world.
I learned so much about Maharajah Duleep Singh, Sophia and her siblings.
It astounds me that we never learn about this in history class or generally when talking about the 19th or early 20th Century.
Sophia’s contributions to the Suffragette cause and toward Independence for India were way ahead of her time.
She was truly an inspiration to many and I’m glad Anita Anand has shared her story with the world.
humerareads's review
4.0
This book was fascinating, and I loved reading it.
We learned about the Suffrage movement at school, and also some of the prominent figures that spearheaded the movement and pushed for progress for the advancement of women and their rights, specifically the right to vote.
However, I never learned about Sophia Duleep Singh, a princess born into Indian royalty and god-daughter to Queen Victoria.
Sophia's contributions to the Suffrage movement were extensive, part of Emmeline Pankhurst's inner circle - and she used her elevated status to work towards the cause. I knew literally nothing about the Maharaja Duleep Singh, Sophia and her siblings, and this book was an absorbing biographical insight into their lives.
I also enjoyed the structure of the biography, the narrative, almost novelistic structure to this book made it really interesting to read. The book also covers the topic of Indian Independence and other defining moments of history involving Britain and the Indian subcontinent, including some causes which Sophia herself worked towards supporting.
I really recommend this book - Sophia was truly an inspiration and I really enjoyed reading her story.
We learned about the Suffrage movement at school, and also some of the prominent figures that spearheaded the movement and pushed for progress for the advancement of women and their rights, specifically the right to vote.
However, I never learned about Sophia Duleep Singh, a princess born into Indian royalty and god-daughter to Queen Victoria.
Sophia's contributions to the Suffrage movement were extensive, part of Emmeline Pankhurst's inner circle - and she used her elevated status to work towards the cause. I knew literally nothing about the Maharaja Duleep Singh, Sophia and her siblings, and this book was an absorbing biographical insight into their lives.
I also enjoyed the structure of the biography, the narrative, almost novelistic structure to this book made it really interesting to read. The book also covers the topic of Indian Independence and other defining moments of history involving Britain and the Indian subcontinent, including some causes which Sophia herself worked towards supporting.
I really recommend this book - Sophia was truly an inspiration and I really enjoyed reading her story.
cbis's review against another edition
5.0
[My notes] Loved this. Fascinating story, brought to life by Anita Anand by her engaging writing style ; never dry, easy to read. Learned more about Suffragettes than I’d expected.
iymain's review
2.0
I had a lot of trouble with getting through this. Reading the epilogue explains why. The author was limited by her resources. There are so many fascinating topics that Amanda simply couldn’t explore without irresponsibly filling in blanks.
Still, this princess bridges the gap between the end of the Sikh kingdom in the Punjab and a nation that later tied its identity to political leaders.
She certainly offers important background to _Downtom Abbey’s_ horror when Lady Sybil’s fascination with suffrage. It was a time of innovative domestic terror under the WSPU. Who knew?
I learned a lot, but this was drier than I’d hoped.
Still, this princess bridges the gap between the end of the Sikh kingdom in the Punjab and a nation that later tied its identity to political leaders.
She certainly offers important background to _Downtom Abbey’s_ horror when Lady Sybil’s fascination with suffrage. It was a time of innovative domestic terror under the WSPU. Who knew?
I learned a lot, but this was drier than I’d hoped.
amy142's review
4.0
An engaging biography on a fascinating woman I knew nothing about. I greatly enjoyed learning about Sophia's varied life, from society balls, to throwing herself in front of cars for the Suffragette cause, to nursing Indian soldiers, and to housing evacuee children in WWII. The information on the developing situation in India during Sophia's lifetime was also enlightening, as to my shame I had no real knowledge on the subject.
What prevented me from giving this biography five stars were a few nit-picks. This might seem extremely minor, but Sophia's birthday is never mentioned, and you can only discover her birthday year by doing the maths of reading the blurb- quite an odd exclusion which left me quite unsure of Sophia's age and level of development during the major events of her childhood. Also, while I appreciated the lessons Anita Anand gave in Indian politics and the Suffragette cause, sometimes they felt a little too tangential, and removed from Sophia's story. Instead, I think I would have appreciated hearing more about Sophia's siblings, who are given very little page time, considering the important role they played in Sophia's life.
What prevented me from giving this biography five stars were a few nit-picks. This might seem extremely minor, but Sophia's birthday is never mentioned, and you can only discover her birthday year by doing the maths of reading the blurb- quite an odd exclusion which left me quite unsure of Sophia's age and level of development during the major events of her childhood. Also, while I appreciated the lessons Anita Anand gave in Indian politics and the Suffragette cause, sometimes they felt a little too tangential, and removed from Sophia's story. Instead, I think I would have appreciated hearing more about Sophia's siblings, who are given very little page time, considering the important role they played in Sophia's life.