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Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire
Bloomsbury presents Courting India by Nandini Das, read by Anu Anand.
WINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE
A SPECTATOR, WATERSTONES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, PROSPECT AND HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR
A profound and ground-breaking new history of one of the most important encounters in the history of the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century.
‘A triumph of writing and scholarship. It is hard to imagine anyone ever bettering Das's account of this part of the story’ – William Dalrymple, Financial Times
‘A fascinating glimpse of the origins of the British Empire . . . drawn in dazzling technicolour’ – Spectator
‘Beautifully written and masterfully researched, this has the makings of a classic’ – Peter Frankopan
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA CROWN AWARDS
When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I’s first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best, and, to the Mughals, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified ‘Great Britain’ under the Stuart monarchy. Meanwhile, the court he entered in India was wealthy and cultured, its dominion widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires of the world.
In Nandini Das's fascinating history of Roe's four years in India, she offers an insider's view of a Britain in the making, a country whose imperial seeds were just being sown. It is a story of palace intrigue and scandal, lotteries and wagers that unfolds as global trade begins to stretch from Russia to Virginia, from West Africa to the Spice Islands of Indonesia.
A major debut that explores the art, literature, sights and sounds of Jacobean London and Imperial India, Courting India reveals Thomas Roe's time in the Mughal Empire to be a turning point in history – and offers a rich and radical challenge to our understanding of Britain and its early empire.
PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
WINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE
A SPECTATOR, WATERSTONES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, PROSPECT AND HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR
A profound and ground-breaking new history of one of the most important encounters in the history of the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century.
‘A triumph of writing and scholarship. It is hard to imagine anyone ever bettering Das's account of this part of the story’ – William Dalrymple, Financial Times
‘A fascinating glimpse of the origins of the British Empire . . . drawn in dazzling technicolour’ – Spectator
‘Beautifully written and masterfully researched, this has the makings of a classic’ – Peter Frankopan
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA CROWN AWARDS
When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I’s first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best, and, to the Mughals, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified ‘Great Britain’ under the Stuart monarchy. Meanwhile, the court he entered in India was wealthy and cultured, its dominion widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires of the world.
In Nandini Das's fascinating history of Roe's four years in India, she offers an insider's view of a Britain in the making, a country whose imperial seeds were just being sown. It is a story of palace intrigue and scandal, lotteries and wagers that unfolds as global trade begins to stretch from Russia to Virginia, from West Africa to the Spice Islands of Indonesia.
A major debut that explores the art, literature, sights and sounds of Jacobean London and Imperial India, Courting India reveals Thomas Roe's time in the Mughal Empire to be a turning point in history – and offers a rich and radical challenge to our understanding of Britain and its early empire.
PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Audible Audio
Published June 8, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 22, 2025
Fun to read: At times
Succinct: No
Well researched: Yes
Informative: Of the period but not the key story
Nandini Das has picked a good story.
Its slow to get going; really beginning at chapter 3 when we zoom into the protagonists voyage.
However if this were a novel it would be criticised for exposition. Her writing up to chapter 3 is a little too discursive on background information. This resurfaces not long after they arrive.
Sentences are too long; filled with things the reader can guess from the last sentence. Surreptitiously adding in her own opinions which appear to be an attempt to show the advancement of the Mughals versus the hubris of the one day colonisers; all unnecessary as nowadays this is all well understood by the informed reader. And the casual reader can draw their own conclusions by showing rather than telling. She appears to have simply bundled up everything she researched of the time and dumped it on the page without narrative drive. The research is excellent but a 2 month story writing workshop is needed to get her anywhere near Peter Francopan or Holland, Churchill or even ancients like Herodotus. Perhaps she spent too long with post medieval writers sources (except Shakespeare and a few others, writing was only just starting to regain skill again at this time: Moore had long ago published Utopia & Sam Pepys was not too far on the horizon). After the voyage Das has her moments but falls back into an addiction to tangents.
Overall this is a colourful and descriptive account but with too much filler and not succinct enough in prose or story; as diverse and meandering as a river delta.
She spends most of her time belittling the English and glorying in the fact that their arrogance and hubris is revealed when it comes up against the magnificence of Asia. Although this is true I don’t as the reader enjoy being constantly reminded the incompetence of the driving characters, and I like to see at least some positive facets in the person or people that I’m reading about in order to keep my interest. Moreover England did have something to glory in at the time as did Europe, even though these were mainly financial systems (despite the monarchs often abusing their contemporaneously efficient tax systems) of their law systems (particularly Englands) burgeoning economies and literature and martial values i.e. the quality of their gunpowder, ships of war, munitions and sailing techniques and castle building skills. In fact though it’s slightly embarrassing it was these very things rather than civilisation or better forms of government - but England arguably had the latter by James I - that helped her eventually con then steal India off the Mughal empire, who intern had stolen it from the previous rulers of India, who, as in all wold humanity and animal existence, stole it from those weaker in possessive ambition and/or arms and cunning than themselves.
Succinct: No
Well researched: Yes
Informative: Of the period but not the key story
Nandini Das has picked a good story.
Its slow to get going; really beginning at chapter 3 when we zoom into the protagonists voyage.
However if this were a novel it would be criticised for exposition. Her writing up to chapter 3 is a little too discursive on background information. This resurfaces not long after they arrive.
Sentences are too long; filled with things the reader can guess from the last sentence. Surreptitiously adding in her own opinions which appear to be an attempt to show the advancement of the Mughals versus the hubris of the one day colonisers; all unnecessary as nowadays this is all well understood by the informed reader. And the casual reader can draw their own conclusions by showing rather than telling. She appears to have simply bundled up everything she researched of the time and dumped it on the page without narrative drive. The research is excellent but a 2 month story writing workshop is needed to get her anywhere near Peter Francopan or Holland, Churchill or even ancients like Herodotus. Perhaps she spent too long with post medieval writers sources (except Shakespeare and a few others, writing was only just starting to regain skill again at this time: Moore had long ago published Utopia & Sam Pepys was not too far on the horizon). After the voyage Das has her moments but falls back into an addiction to tangents.
Overall this is a colourful and descriptive account but with too much filler and not succinct enough in prose or story; as diverse and meandering as a river delta.
She spends most of her time belittling the English and glorying in the fact that their arrogance and hubris is revealed when it comes up against the magnificence of Asia. Although this is true I don’t as the reader enjoy being constantly reminded the incompetence of the driving characters, and I like to see at least some positive facets in the person or people that I’m reading about in order to keep my interest. Moreover England did have something to glory in at the time as did Europe, even though these were mainly financial systems (despite the monarchs often abusing their contemporaneously efficient tax systems) of their law systems (particularly Englands) burgeoning economies and literature and martial values i.e. the quality of their gunpowder, ships of war, munitions and sailing techniques and castle building skills. In fact though it’s slightly embarrassing it was these very things rather than civilisation or better forms of government - but England arguably had the latter by James I - that helped her eventually con then steal India off the Mughal empire, who intern had stolen it from the previous rulers of India, who, as in all wold humanity and animal existence, stole it from those weaker in possessive ambition and/or arms and cunning than themselves.
November 2, 2025
A fascinating journey to the early 17th century, charting the ambitions and anxieties surrounding Sir Thomas Roe's diplomatic mission to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. For those new to the complexities of the Mughal Empire and 17th-century Indian history, this book offers an excellent grounding. Das meticulously sets the scene, clarifying the vast cultural and geopolitical gulf that separated the petty English kingdom from the powerful and sophisticated Mughal state.
The book excels in showing this initial contact as less a clash of equals and more a clumsy attempt by a struggling European power to gain an audience with an emperor who ruled over staggering wealth. Das uses Roe’s own dispatches and the wider context of the period to paint a vibrant picture of the court, the politics, and the sheer sensory overload experienced by the English delegation.
However, the book’s otherwise rich material is occasionally let down by its narrative execution. While the historical detail is impeccable, the narrative can become winding, making it difficult to maintain focus on the core diplomatic objective. Furthermore, the inclusion of some aspects feels unnecessary, leading to a sluggish pace. The tendency to explore tangents, while historically relevant to the era, occasionally dilutes the central drama of Roe’s struggle to secure a treaty. The book meanders through social context at the expense of tight storytelling, requiring patience from the reader.
The book excels in showing this initial contact as less a clash of equals and more a clumsy attempt by a struggling European power to gain an audience with an emperor who ruled over staggering wealth. Das uses Roe’s own dispatches and the wider context of the period to paint a vibrant picture of the court, the politics, and the sheer sensory overload experienced by the English delegation.
However, the book’s otherwise rich material is occasionally let down by its narrative execution. While the historical detail is impeccable, the narrative can become winding, making it difficult to maintain focus on the core diplomatic objective. Furthermore, the inclusion of some aspects feels unnecessary, leading to a sluggish pace. The tendency to explore tangents, while historically relevant to the era, occasionally dilutes the central drama of Roe’s struggle to secure a treaty. The book meanders through social context at the expense of tight storytelling, requiring patience from the reader.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews