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The Empress
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 1887.
At East London's Tilbury Docks, Rani Das and Abdul Karim, step ashore after the long voyage from India. One has to battle a society who deems her a second-class citizen; the other forges an astonishing entanglement with the ageing Queen Victoria who finds herself enchanted by stories of an India over which she rules, but has never seen.
Through narrative, music and song, The Empress blends the true story of Queen Victoria's controversial relationship with her Indian servant and 'Munshi' (teacher), Abdul Karim, with the experiences of Indian ayahs who came to Britain during the 19th century. With private romance being mapped onto world history, the action cuts between the ship and different royal residences, offering bright contrasts as well as surprising affinities. In doing so, the play uncovers remarkable unknown stories of 19th-century Britain and charts the growth of Indian nationalism and the romantic proclivities of one of Britain's most surprising monarchs.
The Empress, which premiered at Stratford-upon-Avon's RSC in 2013, is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes by Professor Jane Garnett, Wadham College, University of Oxford, UK.
At East London's Tilbury Docks, Rani Das and Abdul Karim, step ashore after the long voyage from India. One has to battle a society who deems her a second-class citizen; the other forges an astonishing entanglement with the ageing Queen Victoria who finds herself enchanted by stories of an India over which she rules, but has never seen.
Through narrative, music and song, The Empress blends the true story of Queen Victoria's controversial relationship with her Indian servant and 'Munshi' (teacher), Abdul Karim, with the experiences of Indian ayahs who came to Britain during the 19th century. With private romance being mapped onto world history, the action cuts between the ship and different royal residences, offering bright contrasts as well as surprising affinities. In doing so, the play uncovers remarkable unknown stories of 19th-century Britain and charts the growth of Indian nationalism and the romantic proclivities of one of Britain's most surprising monarchs.
The Empress, which premiered at Stratford-upon-Avon's RSC in 2013, is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes by Professor Jane Garnett, Wadham College, University of Oxford, UK.
- GenresPlaysHistoricalFiction
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 11, 2013
8 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 23, 2023
It actually wasn’t difficult to understand and it was a quick read.
July 14, 2023
I bought this as I couldn't find dates to watch the play. An interesting play with lots of references to history.
June 6, 2021
3.5/5 Stars
Originally, I read this book for school. It was interesting - it combined a plot of young Rani and her story, alongside the quite well-known story of Abdul and Victoria.
To start with, there are the characters. In my opinion, there were gripping characters… and less intriguing characters. Gupta combined use of real historical characters including Mahatma Gandhi, Abdul Karim, Queen Victoria and Dadabhai Naoroji with original characters including the main story of Hari and Rani. Gupta addresses untold stories about ayahs and lascars, especially through Rani and Hari’s story, with the more royal story and mistreatment of Indians even in a higher class society. With the presence of Lady Sarah, we also see how there was racial injustice between everyone. And racial injustice was only one of the injustices Gupta addresses, amongst sexism, social hierarchy and many more.
*SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS WHOLE NEXT PARAGRAPH*
Linking to this is Gupta’s effective use of plot and the storyline. In my opinion, the love story was a bit overdone and at times, unrealistic. It constantly seemed hard to believe that a 16 year old girl would still love her love interest several years later. Another point that I found unrealistic (linking to this) is the timing. If I remember correctly, the story spanned for about fourteen years in which Rani and Hari both become lovers, become separated, Rani is fired by Susan, Abdul becomes Queen Victoria’s ‘Munshi’, Rani becomes pregnant with Lord Oakham’s baby. Rani yet again gets put onto the streets all alone, with her baby, Asha. Near the end, Rani and Hari reunite. The idea that Rani and Hari still ‘love’ each other is still believable, but when reading this, I constantly felt how unrealistic everything was. Near the end, Abdul still seems to remember Rani - personally, I wouldn’t remember someone I had one conversation with over ten years later (Abdul’s memory must be IMPECCABLE). In one scene, Hari is also shown writing letters, when really, several scenes before, he describes how he is illiterate. There are more times we see things as unrealistic as this.
*SPOILER PARAGRAPH OVER*
Linking to this, there is the plot. The plot combined that of Rani and Hari, and Victoria and Abdul. The story was interesting, but nearer to the end, I felt that Gupta was trying to rush the ending instead of giving it a fully formed ending. Nonetheless, the ending AND the plot was decent. Incorporating the plot with the setting and Gupta’s knowledge of places around London including Tilbury docks, East London, Windsor Palace and Buckingham Palace makes the story more believable.
However, as a whole, I found that what made me give this story 3.5 stars was the themes and issues that Gupta decided to face with her play. Her use of characters, especially Lady Sarah and Lord Oakham, tackles the issues of racism, classism and gender. Throughout the story, Gupta also explores friendship, family and love, amongst various types of injustice and discrimination.
Overall, it combined injustice issues with real life ideas at the time of the late 19th Century, and despite the love story seeming a bit overdone, the issue Gupta was trying to face was intriguing and interesting. I would definitely recommend it to someone delving into a deeper history of injustice.
But at the end of the day, I believe that it’s fair to agree that there’s Abdul with his Aladdin costume trying to keep a ‘welcoming’ Queen happy; innocent Rani giving her heart to a passionate sailor Prince Eric, not acknowledging the power of Ursula, and star crossed lovers reuniting for their happy ever after.
Originally, I read this book for school. It was interesting - it combined a plot of young Rani and her story, alongside the quite well-known story of Abdul and Victoria.
To start with, there are the characters. In my opinion, there were gripping characters… and less intriguing characters. Gupta combined use of real historical characters including Mahatma Gandhi, Abdul Karim, Queen Victoria and Dadabhai Naoroji with original characters including the main story of Hari and Rani. Gupta addresses untold stories about ayahs and lascars, especially through Rani and Hari’s story, with the more royal story and mistreatment of Indians even in a higher class society. With the presence of Lady Sarah, we also see how there was racial injustice between everyone. And racial injustice was only one of the injustices Gupta addresses, amongst sexism, social hierarchy and many more.
*SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS WHOLE NEXT PARAGRAPH*
Linking to this is Gupta’s effective use of plot and the storyline. In my opinion, the love story was a bit overdone and at times, unrealistic. It constantly seemed hard to believe that a 16 year old girl would still love her love interest several years later. Another point that I found unrealistic (linking to this) is the timing. If I remember correctly, the story spanned for about fourteen years in which Rani and Hari both become lovers, become separated, Rani is fired by Susan, Abdul becomes Queen Victoria’s ‘Munshi’, Rani becomes pregnant with Lord Oakham’s baby. Rani yet again gets put onto the streets all alone, with her baby, Asha. Near the end, Rani and Hari reunite. The idea that Rani and Hari still ‘love’ each other is still believable, but when reading this, I constantly felt how unrealistic everything was. Near the end, Abdul still seems to remember Rani - personally, I wouldn’t remember someone I had one conversation with over ten years later (Abdul’s memory must be IMPECCABLE). In one scene, Hari is also shown writing letters, when really, several scenes before, he describes how he is illiterate. There are more times we see things as unrealistic as this.
*SPOILER PARAGRAPH OVER*
Linking to this, there is the plot. The plot combined that of Rani and Hari, and Victoria and Abdul. The story was interesting, but nearer to the end, I felt that Gupta was trying to rush the ending instead of giving it a fully formed ending. Nonetheless, the ending AND the plot was decent. Incorporating the plot with the setting and Gupta’s knowledge of places around London including Tilbury docks, East London, Windsor Palace and Buckingham Palace makes the story more believable.
However, as a whole, I found that what made me give this story 3.5 stars was the themes and issues that Gupta decided to face with her play. Her use of characters, especially Lady Sarah and Lord Oakham, tackles the issues of racism, classism and gender. Throughout the story, Gupta also explores friendship, family and love, amongst various types of injustice and discrimination.
Overall, it combined injustice issues with real life ideas at the time of the late 19th Century, and despite the love story seeming a bit overdone, the issue Gupta was trying to face was intriguing and interesting. I would definitely recommend it to someone delving into a deeper history of injustice.
But at the end of the day, I believe that it’s fair to agree that there’s Abdul with his Aladdin costume trying to keep a ‘welcoming’ Queen happy; innocent Rani giving her heart to a passionate sailor Prince Eric, not acknowledging the power of Ursula, and star crossed lovers reuniting for their happy ever after.
July 29, 2025
It was a great story, quite short, although it could be unrealistic at times. I loved how so many historical figures were incorporated, and overall it was really interesting.
April 10, 2023
3.25
ok i have a lot to say... time to write with correct capital letters hehe.
I understood a lot of the messages Gupta was trying to portray through this book, and I think she did send some very meaningful ideas about race/class/gender/colonialism in this era. I enjoyed her exploration of relationships between British and Indian characters of different classes, and was interested in her delving into the mistreatment and racism shown to Indians, as well as emphasising the gaps between the social classes and the impacts of said gaps.
I didn't like Rani's character, and, for a main character, I felt she had little character development - I found her being naive and gullible as a teenager acceptable, but even after 10 years in the play I didn't agree with Rani's decision making and didn't like Gupta's choice when it came to the portrayal of Rani's character.
Overall, I didn’t agree with the path on which Gupta took the play – towards the beginning of the play, it was promising to me; the scenes on the boat were an interesting and intelligent start which had a wide variety of options as to how to continue the play. Having a group of Indian people on the boat was not unrealistic, and it allowed for a solid, collective introduction to each of their characters – through not only their own views, but also through how they interacted with the different people on the board. Through these first few scenes, Gupta floats the idea of mistreatment of Indian ayahs and lascars, foreshadowing a similar theme for the rest of the play.
As the play went on, I was able to gain a closer connection and begin to empathise or sympathise with many of the characters. However, as Gupta later gradually changed the themes of the play (less about racism/colonialism, more about romance and characters ‘finding each other’), I began to dislike it more. The ending felt rushed and unrealistic, while also being unsatisfying in terms of the characters’ development and where they were in their lives at the end of the play.
While I can understand that the ending was a metaphor for inspiration for Indian nationalism, it was highly implausible that .
Ok im done.
ok i have a lot to say... time to write with correct capital letters hehe.
I understood a lot of the messages Gupta was trying to portray through this book, and I think she did send some very meaningful ideas about race/class/gender/colonialism in this era. I enjoyed her exploration of relationships between British and Indian characters of different classes, and was interested in her delving into the mistreatment and racism shown to Indians, as well as emphasising the gaps between the social classes and the impacts of said gaps.
I didn't like Rani's character, and, for a main character, I felt she had little character development - I found her being naive and gullible as a teenager acceptable, but even after 10 years in the play I didn't agree with Rani's decision making and didn't like Gupta's choice when it came to the portrayal of Rani's character.
Overall, I didn’t agree with the path on which Gupta took the play – towards the beginning of the play, it was promising to me; the scenes on the boat were an interesting and intelligent start which had a wide variety of options as to how to continue the play. Having a group of Indian people on the boat was not unrealistic, and it allowed for a solid, collective introduction to each of their characters – through not only their own views, but also through how they interacted with the different people on the board. Through these first few scenes, Gupta floats the idea of mistreatment of Indian ayahs and lascars, foreshadowing a similar theme for the rest of the play.
As the play went on, I was able to gain a closer connection and begin to empathise or sympathise with many of the characters. However, as Gupta later gradually changed the themes of the play (less about racism/colonialism, more about romance and characters ‘finding each other’), I began to dislike it more. The ending felt rushed and unrealistic, while also being unsatisfying in terms of the characters’ development and where they were in their lives at the end of the play.
While I can understand that the ending was a metaphor for inspiration for Indian nationalism, it was highly implausible that .
Ok im done.
December 26, 2018
Grand and sweeping, with a lovely way of weaving the threads together. Hints at a lovely complexity beneath the surface, and although some of the characters feel like a cliche, I can't say I've read a play about them before so I'll give it a pass.
Read
June 5, 2022Really looking forward to teaching this, especially in the wake of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Want to read
September 29, 2022dk
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2022
hari is so dumb
January 15, 2023
i would have liked it better if it didn't take my class five months to finish it
January 18, 2023
Not my cup of tea it was very boring but I don’t want to fail English Lit so I binge read it whilst watching Lilo and Stitch and Cinderella.
April 17, 2024
Uni read. Second act dropped off so bad!!! Felt undeveloped
August 20, 2024
A powerful and thought provoking play with dual narratives and interesting cross-cutting.
March 4, 2025
I hate the britishers even more after I read texts like these.
September 19, 2019
Really enjoyed, would love to see it performed.
April 16, 2025
Short and sweet
I read this for school, and the play itself is well written, but I think that I would enjoy it more if the plot was more intricate. It's also very original and I'm glad that there are more books/plays on the experiences of people of colour in Britain.
'To me, you are an empress'
I read this for school, and the play itself is well written, but I think that I would enjoy it more if the plot was more intricate. It's also very original and I'm glad that there are more books/plays on the experiences of people of colour in Britain.
'To me, you are an empress'
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews