Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals: The Journals of Fanny Parkes (v. 8) [Paperback]

Fanny Parkes (Author), William Dalrymple (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2002

Fanny Parkes, who lived in India between 1822 and 1846, was the ideal travel writer - courageous, indefatigably curious and determinedly independent. Her delightful journal traces her journey from prim memsahib, married to a minor civil servant of the Raj, to eccentric, sitar-playing Indophile, fluent in Urdu, critical of British rule and passionate in her appreciation of Indian culture. Fanny is fascinated by everything, from the trial of the thugs and the efficacy of opium on headaches to the adorning of a Hindu bride. To read her is to get as close as one can to a true picture of early colonial India - the sacred and the profane, the violent and the beautiful, the straight-laced sahibs and the more eccentric ""White Mughals"" who fell in love with India and did their best, like Fanny, to build bridges across cultures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"one of the best accounts of this period" Indira Ghose, Memsahibs Abroad

About the Author

Fanny Parks (1794-1875) went to India in 1822 and spent the next 24 years travelling the country. She was the daughter of an army officer in India and the wife of a civil servant stationed at Allahabad. William Dalrymple is the multi-award winning author of In Xanadu, City of Djinns and From the Holy Mountain, and Britain's most successful contemporary travel writer. He was born in Scotland, but now divides his time between London and Delhi.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Eland Books (December 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0907871887
• ISBN-13: 978-0907871880
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare and delightful travelogue......, March 11, 2008

By 

Yadalam G. Subbiah "Perspective 360" (Bangalore, INDIA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals: The Journals of Fanny Parkes (v. 8) (Paperback)

A rare and delightful travelogue......

Fanny Parkes should be ever grateful to William Dalrymple for rediscovering and bringing out her 'unique and wonderful' travelogue on India - the long-titled " Wanderings of a Pilgrim in search of the Pictureseque, During four and twenty years in the East; with revelations of Life in the Zenana" originally published in 1850 by Pelham Richardson.....yet once again to the world at large.

It is 'unique' because Fanny Parkes is at once an observant, fluent, compassionate, intelligent and fairly without prejudice as a travel writer in the mid 19th century when British arrogance on the colonised peoples colored almost all printed material written in the english language. This book is one rare exception. Its 'wonderful', because the writing style of Parkes is amazingly contemporary and unless one is reminded, it would be impossible to guess that these journals were written almost 175 years ago. Her observations cover almost all aspects of a European living and travelling in 1820's in India.

Her journal is like a rare encyclopedia on all things Indian and peppered with thousands of anecdotes on all the nuances and nuggets of daily life.

One of the most enjoyable and priceless books....

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hugely Entertaining!!, April 11, 2011

By 

tasinmaine (usa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals: The Journals of Fanny Parkes (v. 8) (Paperback)

A very well written book...as are all books by this author! Takes you back to another place, another time!
Highly recommend it!