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lizardreads's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful narrative nonfiction. It's not only an in-depth view into the world of Princess Sophia Duleep-Singh, but the Victorian monarchy, British imperialism, and suffrage movements in the UK and US. It's fascinating and essential, and a wonderfully fun read.
frauleinbunny's review against another edition
4.0
Very detailed. Lots of information also about Colonial History.
graculus's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I don't read all that much non-fiction but occasionally I find myself picking up something I think might be of interest, so Sophia appealed to me when I found it on my local library's e-book system.
Sophia is the story of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, one of the daughters of the deposed king of the Punjab, who was Queen Victoria's goddaughter and brought up in the UK after her father's throne was taken from him by the British Raj when he was a child. I realised early on that some of the story was familiar and this is from reading another book. Early on, I realised that some of the story was more familiar than I expected and that's due to my having read The Maharajah's Box by Christy Campbell, which is a book about Duleep Singh himself.
Unlike her father, who was (understandably, you might say) obsessed with the return of his throne and the wrongs done to him by the British government, Sophia Duleep Singh ended up throwing herself into politics and working for the betterment of others. This meant first, the welfare of Indian sailors in the UK and then a long period of time supporting the suffragette movement. I knew a bit about her involvement with the latter cause but nothing about the former - unfortunately, the author either couldn't find more information than was mentioned or wasn't as interested in it. The most interesting period for me, as I didn't know anything like as much about it, was Sophia's involvement in Indian politics - an odd contrast, the child of a line of hereditary monarchs fighting for the independence of a nation which no longer had a space for her.
Interestingly, there are a couple of different covers for this book and the main one seems to use a 'glamour shot' of Sophia herself - far more interesting, in my opinion, is the one of her bundled up in a big coat selling suffragette newspapers at the gate of Hampton Court Palace, where she lived for a large chunk of her life.
Sophia is the story of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, one of the daughters of the deposed king of the Punjab, who was Queen Victoria's goddaughter and brought up in the UK after her father's throne was taken from him by the British Raj when he was a child. I realised early on that some of the story was familiar and this is from reading another book. Early on, I realised that some of the story was more familiar than I expected and that's due to my having read The Maharajah's Box by Christy Campbell, which is a book about Duleep Singh himself.
Unlike her father, who was (understandably, you might say) obsessed with the return of his throne and the wrongs done to him by the British government, Sophia Duleep Singh ended up throwing herself into politics and working for the betterment of others. This meant first, the welfare of Indian sailors in the UK and then a long period of time supporting the suffragette movement. I knew a bit about her involvement with the latter cause but nothing about the former - unfortunately, the author either couldn't find more information than was mentioned or wasn't as interested in it. The most interesting period for me, as I didn't know anything like as much about it, was Sophia's involvement in Indian politics - an odd contrast, the child of a line of hereditary monarchs fighting for the independence of a nation which no longer had a space for her.
Interestingly, there are a couple of different covers for this book and the main one seems to use a 'glamour shot' of Sophia herself - far more interesting, in my opinion, is the one of her bundled up in a big coat selling suffragette newspapers at the gate of Hampton Court Palace, where she lived for a large chunk of her life.
naye's review against another edition
4.0
What a fascinating life. I'm glad there's this brilliant record of it, because Sophia's story is not something I would ever have come across otherwise. This is so rich in details and descriptions, and has really added to my understanding of the time periods and geographical locations it spans.
heatherr's review against another edition
4.0
Ranjit Singh was the last ruling emperor of the Punjab.
After his death, the British used the confusion surrounding his heirs' succession to move into the area. Most of the adult heirs died suspiciously. When it was over, the ruler of this prosperous area was an 1o year old boy, Duleep. His mother was very politically astute so the British had her exiled from the country and then forced the child-king to sign over his lands and the symbol of his rule, the Kor-i-Noor diamond.
Duleep Singh was then raised by British people until Queen Victoria decided that he was really cute and wanted him to go to England. She lavished attention on him and considered herself to be his best friend. He was not reunited with his mother until he was an adult.
Eventually Duleep married a woman from Egypt and had six children. The children were known as Princes and Princesses. Princess Sophia was his youngest surviving child from this marriage. Arrangements were made with the India office to provide for the family because they did not want them going back to India and stirring up trouble.
Sophia grew up in luxury until her father's debts became too much. He then tried to return to India with the family but was taken off the ship at the Suez Canal. The family was sent back to England but Duleep Singh did not go with them. Instead he publicly disowned them and started another family while trying to get back to India. He never did.
Sophia and her sisters were able to get to India as adults. The experience of meeting people fighting for Indian independence awoke the political consciousness of Sophia. She returned to England and threw herself into the fight of Women's Suffrage in the 1910s.
I love this picture. Sophia lived across the street from the gates of Hampton Court Palace in a grace-and-favor house. That meant that she was allowed to live there as a favor from the monarch. She protested in front of the tourists coming to Hampton Court and sold suffragette newspapers to them. Despite being involved in many of the major protests of the era and even attacking politicians, she was never sent to prison like her fellow suffragettes. She even refused to pay any taxes in an attempt to get arrested. The spectacle of putting a Princess in prison was too much for law enforcement.
World War I curtailed the suffragette movement. She became a nurse for Indian soldiers brought back to England for rest.
While I was reading this book, the Indian solicitor-general came out and said that India should not try to get the Kor-i-Noor diamond back and said it was "neither stolen nor forcibly taken". It was a present. Yeah, because a 10 year old with no friendly adult counsel can make those kinds of gifts.
The Kor-i-noor is the diamond in the center of the front cross on this crown. This is what reading nonfiction gets you. It gets you yelling at the news in an very angry, yet informed, way.
The part of the book I found the most touching was a memory of the daughter of the elderly Princess' housekeeper.
"We'd be walking, and she'd be telling me about the world and elections and how important they were. And then she would kneel down in front of me, looking me right in the eye and say 'I want a solemn promise from you' even though I don't think I knew what a solemn promise was at that stage. She would say 'You are never, ever not to vote. You must promise me. When you are allowed to vote you are never, ever to fail to do so. You don't realise how far we've come. Promise me.' For the next three years, Sophia made Drovna promise again and again."
Drovna has kept her promise to the woman who fought hard to win the right for English women to vote.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
kjcharles's review against another edition
Bio of Indian suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. This is an absolutely amazing story. Sophia was the daughter of Duleep Singh, the last maharaja of the Sikh empire who was forced to sign over his power to the British Raj as a boy. She was brought up in England, god-daughter of Queen, yet still treated like a second class citizen, and she found her purpose in fighting alongside the suffragettes. She tried her hardest to get arrested, used her power for publicity, and then when war broke out she made a spectacular contribution to funds for sepoys (Indian soldiers, grossly underequipped by the British) and worked as a nurse for Sikh soldiers. All this while suffering from lifelong and dreadful depression and a spectacularly terrible family life.
This story is told with a ton of context, starting with Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab, and filling in Gandhi's activities and the struggle for Indian independence. I needed this because despite studying British history up to the age of 18, I had precisely no (that's zero) lessons covering India, an entire continent that the British stole which had a gigantic influence on economics, history, immigration. Amazing, isn't it.
This is hugely readable and compelling, written with vivid description and a lot of jaw-dropping stories aboout bad behaviour in high society, as well as the grotesque injustice of the Raj. It is incredible how completely a literal princess, who sat next to Besant and Pankhurst on the stage at meetings, has been airbrushed out of the suffragette story. Massively recommended.
This story is told with a ton of context, starting with Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab, and filling in Gandhi's activities and the struggle for Indian independence. I needed this because despite studying British history up to the age of 18, I had precisely no (that's zero) lessons covering India, an entire continent that the British stole which had a gigantic influence on economics, history, immigration. Amazing, isn't it.
This is hugely readable and compelling, written with vivid description and a lot of jaw-dropping stories aboout bad behaviour in high society, as well as the grotesque injustice of the Raj. It is incredible how completely a literal princess, who sat next to Besant and Pankhurst on the stage at meetings, has been airbrushed out of the suffragette story. Massively recommended.
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