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Available
Description
From the author of the Samuel Johnson prize-shortlisted 'Return of a King', the romantic and ultimately tragic tale of a passionate love affair that transcended all the cultural, religious and political boundaries of its time. James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court of Hyderabad when he met Khair un-Nissa - 'Most Excellent among Women' - the great-niece of the Prime Minister of Hyderabad. He fell in love with her and overcame many obstacles to marry her, converting to Islam and, according to Indian sources, becoming a double-agent working against the East India Company. It is a remarkable story, but such things were not unknown: from the early sixteenth century to the eve of the Indian Mutiny, the 'white Mughals' who wore local dress and adopted Indian ways were a source of embarrassment to successive colonial administrations. Dalrymple unearths such colourful figures as 'Hindoo Stuart', who travelled with his own team of Brahmins to maintain his temple of idols, and Sir David Auchterlony, who took all 13 of his Indian wives out for evening promenades, each on the back of her own elephant. In 'White Mughals', William Dalrymple discovers a world almost entirely unexplored by history, and places at its centre a compelling tale of seduction and betrayal.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
After reading The Last Mughal a few years ago which I remember vividly as one of the highlights of my reading career, I wanted to read the prequel of sorts, White Mughals. Dalrymple is one of the smartest and energetic historians of our times on Indian history. It's an exotic subject (for me) which
Ultimately I found this an uneven read. In parts I was totally engrossed and it has informed my image of late 18th India (which was a blank slate). For that alone the lush detail makes the book worthwhile. However I bogged down in the excessive detail of private lives in the second half of the book which takes on a kind of soap opera feel. It just didn't seem that important or worthwhile to learn the chain of events Dalrymple uncovered in these private letters. I can understand why it's worth writing about, but I lost interest. Still I recommend it as unique along with The Last Mughal. I'm looking forward to his upcoming book on the British Afghanistan wars.
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Dalrymple ably brings vividly to life across the barrier of time and culture. In this deeply researched history he has read thousands of private letters by British aristocrats who were in the opening stages of establishing English prominence in India (around the same time Napoleon's fleet was defeated in Egypt thus halting plans France had of going east). He shows how there were cross cultural exchanges in India: Christian and Muslim/Hindu, European and Indian. While in the 19th century the British kept apart, in this earlier period it was not uncommon for British to "go native". The book focuses on a love affair between a teenage Muslim Indian girl and the British head of a Provence and the many intrigues and scandals and so on. Ultimately I found this an uneven read. In parts I was totally engrossed and it has informed my image of late 18th India (which was a blank slate). For that alone the lush detail makes the book worthwhile. However I bogged down in the excessive detail of private lives in the second half of the book which takes on a kind of soap opera feel. It just didn't seem that important or worthwhile to learn the chain of events Dalrymple uncovered in these private letters. I can understand why it's worth writing about, but I lost interest. Still I recommend it as unique along with The Last Mughal. I'm looking forward to his upcoming book on the British Afghanistan wars.
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LibraryThing member AnglersRest
The June choice for our reading group was The White Mughals by William Dalrymple. The comments from the group were split into essentially three camps, those that loved it, those who read it and persevered and those who hated it.
I fell into the loved it camp and I did love it. The book took the
The book is based upon the surviving papers and diaries from 18th Century British aristocrats who spent many years in India. What is shown is India in context with history; the defeat of Napoleon in Egypt for example. The book explores the culture exchange, where many of the men in the region "go native" with local women and then send the children back to England to be educated. The book explores the Christian/Muslim/Hindu exchange which was perfectly acceptable in the 18th Century, alas when the 19th Century appears that exchange and the "go native" approach is scorned and unaccepted.
The book does cover the romance of James Achilles Kirkpatrick who was a promising British resident in Hyderabad, and a young noblewoman and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, called Khair-un-Nissa and whilst this romance is essentially the backbone of the book, it in some ways fades into the background amongst the historical aspects of India and the region at this time.
Even so, I loved the book, I loved the provision of sources and notes and the depth of research and for me this has to be the read of the year.
I fell into the loved it camp and I did love it. The book took the
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author 5 years to write. It is thoroughly researched and painstakingly written, threading the storyline together with the use of historical documents and probable hypothesis when the documentation can not support the theory.The book is based upon the surviving papers and diaries from 18th Century British aristocrats who spent many years in India. What is shown is India in context with history; the defeat of Napoleon in Egypt for example. The book explores the culture exchange, where many of the men in the region "go native" with local women and then send the children back to England to be educated. The book explores the Christian/Muslim/Hindu exchange which was perfectly acceptable in the 18th Century, alas when the 19th Century appears that exchange and the "go native" approach is scorned and unaccepted.
The book does cover the romance of James Achilles Kirkpatrick who was a promising British resident in Hyderabad, and a young noblewoman and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, called Khair-un-Nissa and whilst this romance is essentially the backbone of the book, it in some ways fades into the background amongst the historical aspects of India and the region at this time.
Even so, I loved the book, I loved the provision of sources and notes and the depth of research and for me this has to be the read of the year.
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LibraryThing member Oberon
White Mughals by William Darymple
Full confession - I wanted to like this book more than I did. I read Dalrymple's City of the Djinns last year and it was one of my top reads for the year so I made a point of requesting more Dalrymple books for Christmas. White Mughals was by no means a bad book. It
White Mughals is, in part, the story of the relationship between James Achilles Kirkpatrick, a British resident and high official of the British East Indian Company, and Khair-un-Nissa, a muslim noblewoman. The other part of the book is a detailed explanation of the social and political environment at this stage in India. Ultimately, I found this part more engaging that the love story.
White Mughals does a good job of making the point that the division between the English and Indians that characterized late Empire was a product of Victorian sensibilities and that the earlier encounters between the English and Indians were much less separate. Dalrymple's objective here is not to point the sexual contact between the English and Indians (which there was plenty of both before and after the English got a lot more prudish about such things) but rather that genuine love and respect could exist between the two worlds. Kirkpatrick and Khair's relationship is exhibit A to this point.
While serving as the British resident in Hyderbad at a Muslim Mogul court, Kirkpatrick meets and falls for Khair. The two secretly wed and proceed to have two children who are initially raised in Mogul court but are subsequently sent to England for school, never to see their parents again. Dalrymple does a good job of making the point that the marriage between these two people represented a blending of cultures. Kirkpatrick, while undeniably English, took a great interest in Indian culture, especially the Islamic culture of Northern India. He became fluent in the language, arts and courtly culture of where he lived and worked.
Ultimately, White Mughals is written as a tragedy. Kirkpatrick's embrace of the existing culture is juxtaposed with an increasingly puritan and rapacious view of India by the East India Company. Thus, Kirkpatrick is frequently at odds with his superiors over the East India Company's growing territorial expansion and its unfair trade agreements that are pushed on to the Indians at gunpoint. When Kirkpatrick protests, his adversaries use his relationship with Khair and his apparent conversion to Islam as proof that he is a traitor. The reader is left with the sense that Kirkpatrick is being dragged back by a receding tide against which he cannot prevail. There is also a sense that the English relationship with India could have gone in a very different relationship and could have been far more collaborative. Instead, we see the flowering of the idea that India and Indians are lesser people and thus properly subjugated by the English. Kirkpatrick sees the transformation of attitudes and attempts to stop the tide but to no avail.
White Mughals is an interesting book about an important inflection point. However, the grander scope of the issues are occasionally drowned in the minute details of the relationship between Kirkpatrick and Khair, making the narrative harder to follow.
Full confession - I wanted to like this book more than I did. I read Dalrymple's City of the Djinns last year and it was one of my top reads for the year so I made a point of requesting more Dalrymple books for Christmas. White Mughals was by no means a bad book. It
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just wasn't as enchanting for me as I had hoped.White Mughals is, in part, the story of the relationship between James Achilles Kirkpatrick, a British resident and high official of the British East Indian Company, and Khair-un-Nissa, a muslim noblewoman. The other part of the book is a detailed explanation of the social and political environment at this stage in India. Ultimately, I found this part more engaging that the love story.
White Mughals does a good job of making the point that the division between the English and Indians that characterized late Empire was a product of Victorian sensibilities and that the earlier encounters between the English and Indians were much less separate. Dalrymple's objective here is not to point the sexual contact between the English and Indians (which there was plenty of both before and after the English got a lot more prudish about such things) but rather that genuine love and respect could exist between the two worlds. Kirkpatrick and Khair's relationship is exhibit A to this point.
While serving as the British resident in Hyderbad at a Muslim Mogul court, Kirkpatrick meets and falls for Khair. The two secretly wed and proceed to have two children who are initially raised in Mogul court but are subsequently sent to England for school, never to see their parents again. Dalrymple does a good job of making the point that the marriage between these two people represented a blending of cultures. Kirkpatrick, while undeniably English, took a great interest in Indian culture, especially the Islamic culture of Northern India. He became fluent in the language, arts and courtly culture of where he lived and worked.
Ultimately, White Mughals is written as a tragedy. Kirkpatrick's embrace of the existing culture is juxtaposed with an increasingly puritan and rapacious view of India by the East India Company. Thus, Kirkpatrick is frequently at odds with his superiors over the East India Company's growing territorial expansion and its unfair trade agreements that are pushed on to the Indians at gunpoint. When Kirkpatrick protests, his adversaries use his relationship with Khair and his apparent conversion to Islam as proof that he is a traitor. The reader is left with the sense that Kirkpatrick is being dragged back by a receding tide against which he cannot prevail. There is also a sense that the English relationship with India could have gone in a very different relationship and could have been far more collaborative. Instead, we see the flowering of the idea that India and Indians are lesser people and thus properly subjugated by the English. Kirkpatrick sees the transformation of attitudes and attempts to stop the tide but to no avail.
White Mughals is an interesting book about an important inflection point. However, the grander scope of the issues are occasionally drowned in the minute details of the relationship between Kirkpatrick and Khair, making the narrative harder to follow.
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LibraryThing member woollymammoth
I'm half way through this and it's a brilliant History book about the British in India. Very well written, very engaging, and not the conventional story of the Raj.
LibraryThing member Staramber
Looking back on reading I can say a few words of criticism. The background made the book slow to start, the detail dragged you away from the main focus and the foot notes did repeat information on occasion. But while I was reading it was so compelling, so beautifully detailed, researched and
This book is a sound grounding in the lives of the Europeans, the Indians and the inbetweens in eighteenth century India. It tells of the lives of men who not only went to India but loved India and adopted it as there home. A fresh antidote to the Victorian ideas of separateness, of coloniser and colonised.
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written that I didn’t care.This book is a sound grounding in the lives of the Europeans, the Indians and the inbetweens in eighteenth century India. It tells of the lives of men who not only went to India but loved India and adopted it as there home. A fresh antidote to the Victorian ideas of separateness, of coloniser and colonised.
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LibraryThing member Tendulkar01
A fascinating book based on impressive original research
LibraryThing member celerydog
Uneven pace and endless detail in the second half spoilt what I'd anticipated as a great read. Got to see the portrait of the 2 children in HSBC's HK HQ.
LibraryThing member elimatta
Fascinating and important story about the time before high racist imperialism ended the mix of cultures. Pluralism in manners, religion and law were all evident until about 1820, though it ended with Victorian pomposity, formality and righteous self-belief that British was not only best but all.
Too little reflection on these themes, too much a story and too little a history. The book took years to research and the author seemed unable to let go of any tiny fact he managed to uncover. As others have said, the second half dragged.
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Too little reflection on these themes, too much a story and too little a history. The book took years to research and the author seemed unable to let go of any tiny fact he managed to uncover. As others have said, the second half dragged.
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LibraryThing member benjaminsiegel
I'm not sure it holds up as nicely as I remember it, but it's the reason I do what I do for a living. Romantic in the exciting and troubling senses in equal measure; beautifully told.
LibraryThing member mbmackay
This is a great read - the story of a love affair between an English officer in the East India company and a high born muslim woman in Hyderabad around 1800. The author uses the love story to highlight the broader history of Europeans in India at the time. In particular he makes clear that the
While I loved the book, there were minor irritations. The events of the lead characters are interspersed with the broader historical narrative. I got a little annoyed by the overuse of the hanging moment - the main characters would be at a dramatic turning point, and would be left hanging, while the next chapter starts with banal background to the broader history. I can see that the device would be tempting for the author, I found it overused by the end.
Read Dec 2016
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Victorian era image that has come down to us (the British in India dressing for dinner in the tropics to eat roast beef) applies to a later era. There was an earlier era where the relationship between the British and the Indian ruling class was more ambiguous, where a number of the British were captivated by the culture and learning (and the women) of the world in which they lived.While I loved the book, there were minor irritations. The events of the lead characters are interspersed with the broader historical narrative. I got a little annoyed by the overuse of the hanging moment - the main characters would be at a dramatic turning point, and would be left hanging, while the next chapter starts with banal background to the broader history. I can see that the device would be tempting for the author, I found it overused by the end.
Read Dec 2016
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LibraryThing member starbox
I recall reading 'Vanity Fair' many years ago- one character, Mr Sedley, was a returned official from India, who brought with him a fondness for all things from the Sub-Continent. How to square the enthusiasm of the late 18th century with the very differently minded 'colonials' we meet in later
This biography of the British Resident at the court of Hyderabad is a pretty massive, all-encompassing work. Although the blurb talks of his love affair with a muslim noblewoman - and that is the thread that brings it all together- the author has done a huge amount of research on every aspect of Indian life. The reader thus encounters the Nizam (local ruler) - whose court has just as much plotting and intrigue as any in the West, attends festivals and battles. The French play a not insignificant part- with Napoleon setting his cap at world domination, and his troops in India seeking to cosy up to Indian rulers, the Brits need to maintain the favoured position.
Our hero, James Kirkpatrick, manages to maintain an equable relationship as go-between for the Moghul king and the East India company But as nasty Richard Wellesly (brother of the later Duke of Wellington) assumes control, the friendly, mutually respectful relations start to morph into what we later associate with colonialism - British staff increasingly pressured to stop wearing Indian garb, avoid mixed marriage etc, , and culminating { with the "wholesale arrival of the memsahibs, the rise of Evangelical Christianity and the moral certainties it brought) in a complete gulf between the two nations. None of which bodes well for the highly controversial romance - and eventual marriage- of Kirkpatrick and Khair un-Nissa...The love story is very sad, though has a heartwarming postscript..
Quite a demanding read- I only really got into it after first 200 pages- but very informative and pretty good read.
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works- hard-bitten, scornful and determined to preserve a huge distance between themselves and the 'natives'?This biography of the British Resident at the court of Hyderabad is a pretty massive, all-encompassing work. Although the blurb talks of his love affair with a muslim noblewoman - and that is the thread that brings it all together- the author has done a huge amount of research on every aspect of Indian life. The reader thus encounters the Nizam (local ruler) - whose court has just as much plotting and intrigue as any in the West, attends festivals and battles. The French play a not insignificant part- with Napoleon setting his cap at world domination, and his troops in India seeking to cosy up to Indian rulers, the Brits need to maintain the favoured position.
Our hero, James Kirkpatrick, manages to maintain an equable relationship as go-between for the Moghul king and the East India company But as nasty Richard Wellesly (brother of the later Duke of Wellington) assumes control, the friendly, mutually respectful relations start to morph into what we later associate with colonialism - British staff increasingly pressured to stop wearing Indian garb, avoid mixed marriage etc, , and culminating { with the "wholesale arrival of the memsahibs, the rise of Evangelical Christianity and the moral certainties it brought) in a complete gulf between the two nations. None of which bodes well for the highly controversial romance - and eventual marriage- of Kirkpatrick and Khair un-Nissa...The love story is very sad, though has a heartwarming postscript..
Quite a demanding read- I only really got into it after first 200 pages- but very informative and pretty good read.
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LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
At the moment, White Mughals is a DNF book, but not yet in the graveyard. The first 100 pages felt leaden and as I progressed, I skimmed more and more of the (overly?) detailed, historical passages. Eventually, I lost the flavour of the historical background and Dalrymple's writing style didn't
I want to come back to this book with more mental energy, when I might have better luck. I sense that an excellent 350-page historical romance-adventure lurks in this 500+ page book!
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build any of the tension that the context of the plot should have developed.I want to come back to this book with more mental energy, when I might have better luck. I sense that an excellent 350-page historical romance-adventure lurks in this 500+ page book!
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LibraryThing member gottfried_leibniz
For the last few months -- I've been reading/listening to William Dalrymple a lot to understand Indian history.
He did answer my peculiar questions about India before Independence. My questions were geared towards lifestyle of people, economic status, military. Pardon me for injecting my personal
I do remember the first and second generation orientalists eg: Sir William Jones, falling in love with Bengal et culture of India. They would be 'Indianized.' It makes sense that political opinion, academic opinion changed after 1840's. The English took a more imperialistic attitude towards India.
An Excellent book that gives a real picture of Hyderabad through relationship of James and Khair.
I think growing up in Tamil Nadu, India, the history that I was fed in High-school was contrary to a realist perspective and shoddy in content. I must say, I am embarrassed.
Overall, I recommend this to anyone interested in Indian History, Hyderabad, Life in India before 1850's
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
He did answer my peculiar questions about India before Independence. My questions were geared towards lifestyle of people, economic status, military. Pardon me for injecting my personal
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opinion and my reading background. I do remember the first and second generation orientalists eg: Sir William Jones, falling in love with Bengal et culture of India. They would be 'Indianized.' It makes sense that political opinion, academic opinion changed after 1840's. The English took a more imperialistic attitude towards India.
An Excellent book that gives a real picture of Hyderabad through relationship of James and Khair.
I think growing up in Tamil Nadu, India, the history that I was fed in High-school was contrary to a realist perspective and shoddy in content. I must say, I am embarrassed.
Overall, I recommend this to anyone interested in Indian History, Hyderabad, Life in India before 1850's
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
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Awards
James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Shortlist — Biography — 2003)
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards (Winner — 2003)
Kiriyama Prize (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2004)
Wolfson History Prize (Shortlist — 2003)
PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize (Shortlist — 2003)