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A review by kjcharles
Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand
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.