East India Company at Home, 1757 - 1857

by Margot Finn, Kate Smith

In the century between 1757 and 1857, The East India Company brought both sizeable affluence and fresh perspective back home to Britain from the Indian subcontinent. During this period, the Company shifted its activities and increasingly employed civil servants, army officers, surveyors, and doctors, many of whom returned to Britain with newly acquired wealth, tastes, and identities. This new volume moves beyond conventional academic narratives by drawing on wider research, exploring how the empire in Asia shaped British country houses, thus contributing to the ongoing conversation on imperial culture and its British legacies. 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, 19th Century, 18th Century

500 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2018

Reviews

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The East India Company had a massive impact on India, and India affected employees of the East India Company. India and China affected these employees, and you may see the effect in the artifacts, furnishings, and trinkets members of the EIC brought home.
It is also fascinating to note from the book that, on their return home, many of these employees stayed close to each other, forming long-lasting personal and professional bonds.
The book comprises 19 chapters in 5 parts. The organization is excellent, allowing you to follow specific examples divided into five broad themes. Each section starts with a summary, which is excellent.
The chapters themselves go into excruciating detail, which may interest no Asian person. I found some chapters fascinating, such as the chapter about Fanny Parks.
The rest, as I mentioned, contains too much detail, which is difficult to focus on.

[Bri Neptin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting selection of essays investigating how imperial wealth is accumulated and displayed, and hidden through its integration into traditional material displays.