Translation of the Letters of a Hindoo Rajah

by Elizabeth Hamilton, Pamela Perkins (Editor), Shannon D. Russell (Editor)

In Translation of the Letters of a Hindoo Rajah , Elizabeth Hamilton engages directly with the major issues of her day, from colonialism and the “New Philosophy” to the present state of literature and female education. Satirizing British society and incorporating material from a wide range of the orientalists’ new translations of Indian writing, Hamilton’s book is a key document in the debates which raged in England over the British role in India. It remains one of the most interesting political novels of the 18th century.

Genres: Classics

339 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1796

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Elizabeth Hamilton was a Scottish essayist, poet, satirist and novelist. Born in Belfast, she lived most of her life in Scotland, moving there in 1762 to live with a Mrs Marshall, her paternal aunt, near Stirling and spending much of her later life in Edinburgh. She died in Harrogate in England after a short illness.

Her first literary efforts were directed in supporting her brother Charles in his orientalist and linguistic studies. After his death in 1792 she continued to publish orientalist scholarship, as well as historical, educationalist and theoretical works. She wrote The Cottagers of Glenburnie (1808), a tale which had much popularity in its day, and perhaps had some effect in the improvement of certain aspects of humble domestic life in Scotland. She also wrote the satirical novel Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (1800), and the anti-Jacobin Letters of a Hindoo Rajah in 1796, a work in the tradition of Montesquieu and Goldsmith. Her most important pedagogical works are Letters on Education, Essays on the Human Mind (1796), Letters on the Elementary Principles of Education (1801), Letters addressed to the Daughter of a Nobleman, on the Formation of Religious and Moral Principle (1806), and Hints addressed to the Patrons and Directors of Schools (1815).

Reviews

[Gem K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely a plot in sight but mercifully much shorter than Memoirs of Modern Philosophers

[Reese · Rating 2 out of 5]

FINALLY DONE

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is Volume I of these letters, and I am actually curious about what happens in Volume 2. (I'm assuming there is one--I haven't checked.) This book turned out to be much more interesting than I thought it sounded, and much more interesting than the first ten pages of the first letter led me to believe. (I skipped the "Preliminary Dissertation" because it looked boring.)

There are three writers of eleven letters in this book: the Rajah referred to in the title, his Zimeendar friend and a Bramin who is a mutual acquaintance of theirs. In the first (long) letter, the Rajah tells the Zimeendar about a British man that he happened to meet, who was a Christian. He is enamored with what he's learned about this new faith, telling his friend how things are done in England. The Zimeendar responds with great concern, and also writes a letter to the Bramin sharing this concern. The Bramin writes back about wanting to open the Rajah's eyes to how he has been deceived by the English man he met. And so it goes back and forth. Common themes: religion (mostly Christianity and Hinduism, but also Islam), women (rights, agency) and friendship. The volume ends with the Rajah writing a final letter informing the Zimeendar of his plan to travel to Europe. I want to know what he thinks when he gets there!

While there were things I didn't understand (Hindu terms, or references to their scriptures), it wasn't hard to read. I started to get a feel for each of the authors and was interested in each of their points of views.

[Budd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is satiracal about so many 18th cent. issues including women's education, christianity, and british foriegn policy. It is a hard book to follow with a bunch of characters that are only in the book briefly. It is very funny and the country mouse in the city effect is very well done. Hamilton took this character and really breathed life into him. The only draw back would be the number of characters that appear briefly for very little effect throughout the novel.

[Lidiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-done critical satire, yet a weak plot.