Women's Travel Writings in India 1777-1854

The 'memsahibs' of the British Raj in India are well-known figures today, frequently depicted in fiction, TV & film.

Less familiar to both academics & the general public, however, are the 18th- & early 19th-century precursors to the memsahibs of the Victorian & Edwardian era.

Yet British women also visited and resided in India in this earlier period, witnessing first-hand the tumultuous, expansionist decades in which the East India Company established British control over the subcontinent.

Some of these travellers produced highly regarded accounts of their experiences, thereby inaugurating a rich tradition of women's travel writing about India.

In the process, they not only reported events & developments in the subcontinent, they also contributed to them, helping to shape opinion & policy on issues such as colonial rule, religion, and social reform.

This collection assembles 7 of these accounts.