2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

There were many historical elements in this story. Any surprises for you, new learnings?

I had never heard of the Allied Sovereigns visit to London. What a spectacle! C S Harris is so good a weaving in the actual events of the time. It's like a mini history lesson.

I hadn’t heard of that either, Jo Ann, though my husband did (no surprise there).

But, the biggest revelations were about the East India Company. When I was in high school, it was represented as a salvation for the import-export trade. I had no idea of their despicable past and contribution to the ills of the Asian cultures and societies. It made me a bit angry at what was in my textbooks at the time.

The TV series Taboo (which, I realize, is fiction) with Tom Hardy, painted a very dark side of the East India Company. I drew some of my mental imagery for the book from the places/characters in the TV show.

Oh, thanks for that.

The burial process was interesting.

I was stunned about a body staying in the family’s home for a week!

Like you Jonetta I only heard good things in school but I read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet which features the Dutch East India Company. It's a beautiful book but it also exposes the bad side of affairs in Asia. Oh and it is an excellent audio too!

Thanks for the recommendation, Phrynne!

I saw something on the History Channel a few years ago about the East India Company. They painted a bad picture of them and their policies, but I don't think I realized how truly awful they were.

Jonetta wrote: "I was stunned about a body staying in the family’s home for a week!"

My grandmother told me that they used to do that here in the US. She said when her grandmother died, they had her in the front parlor for five or six days. When my grandmother (she was around 12) walked in the room one evening to get something, the body started to sit up. It scared her to death and she ran out screaming. She found out later that it was caused by the gases leaving the body. (I don't know if that is true or not.) Anyway they didn't embalmed the bodies like they do today.

She scared me when she told me the story.

Sharon, the gas story is one that I had confirmed by an undertaker years ago (as well as my hubby). Back in the day, there were many stories about dead bodies “coming alive”😏

I’m also used to the body staying in a house but only for a couple of days. It was the length of time that struck me as unusual, especially when not embalmed!

True story...we lived in Naples, Italy for three years. I was eight years old when our Italian neighbors’ baby daughter died. My Mom went to pay respects, taking me, unaware of the tradition of keeping the body in the home. I had nightmares for weeks, so bad my parents finally move me into my sister’s room.

Jonetta,

I think the "coming alive" syndrome is the basis of many of the horror stories of old. Honestly, I don't think I would sleep with a dead body in my house. I believe in ghosts (paranormal events) and I'm sure I would have nightmares for years.

Sharon, I have a healthy respect for family lore, which my great grandmother insisted I do. I agree, that syndrome sparked many a horror story.

No way could I sleep with a body in the house. I can still see that baby today.