Kindle Price: $2.99

Save $41.96 (93%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Patrick Wheeler
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Ribbons Among the Rajahs: A History of British Women in India Before the Raj Kindle Edition

by Patrick Wheeler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
See all formats and editions
“Evokes life for upper-class British women [in India] . . . .Extensive quotes from letters tell the women’s story in their own words.” —Who Do You Think You Are magazine

From the mid-eighteenth century onwards, British women started traveling in numbers to the East Indies, mostly to accompany husbands, brothers or fathers. Very little about them is recorded from the earlier years, about the remarkable journeys that they made and what drove them to travel those huge distances. Some kept journals, others wrote letters, and for the first time Patrick Wheeler tells their story in this fascinating and colorful history, exploring the little-known lives of these women and their experiences of life in India before the Raj.

With a perceptive approach, Ribbons Among the Rajahs considers all aspects of women’s lives in India, from the original discomfort of traversing the globe and the complexities of arrival through to creating a home in a tight-knight settlement community. It considers, too, the effects of the subservience of women to the needs of men and argues for the greater fusion of European cultures that existed prior to imperial times.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    310 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword History
  5. Publication date
    May 30, 2017
  6. File size
    21045 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Wheeler graduated in Medicine from Oxford before embarking on a career as a specialist Physician in hospitals in the southeast of England. Some time before he left medicine he had developed a great interest in India, and especially its colonial history. Working with people has particularly inclined him towards social history, Ribbons Among the Rajahs is his first book.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B077QQ4RSZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword History (May 30, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 21045 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Patrick Wheeler

Patrick Wheeler

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

T. Divens
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous!
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
The books covers Englishwomen (with one German exception) who followed their husbands to India before the establishment of the Raj. Documentary evidence is not thick upon the ground, but Mr. Wheeler makes the most of what there. The author has a knack for telling a tale, and is adept at keeping the flow of narrative going. The research took him to old advice to travelers list: no lady should ship out to India with sufficent underwear...and 'fashionable kid shoes".
The best book on India and the British this year.
Helpful
 Report
Kristine Fisher
4.0 out of 5 stars Ribbons Among the Rajahs
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2017
Ribbons Among the Rajahs by Patrick Wheeler is a free advanced reader copy of a paperback book offered to me by Pen & Sword in exchange for an honest review.

Wheeler tells of the voyage, household, matchmaking, domestic duties, and entertaining by British women in India between 1857 (the first Indian war of independence) and 1947 (the time of India's full independence) through the letters and diaries of the women themselves. By the time that British single or widowed women (who referred to themselves as 'whey-faced' or 'Anglo') began to arrive off the boat or train into Madras, male British military officials had been marrying and starting families with Indian women and practicing Hinduism. In large Victorian households, there would be servants for very specific duties (keeping torches lit, wardrobe master/mistress, cow herder, ironer) and a 'khansamah' as a lead butler, even though entertaining and giving parties would involve people needing to travel unelegantly in the elements. I loved the idea of Victorian dresses being adapted to include sari fabrics, meals including tropical fruits (although there would be the dire perishability of sugar, water and wine due to heat, humidity, and lack for ice), although it sends on a sad, non-encompassing note of mortality, cholera, malaria, and dysentery.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

suman mukherjee
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read!
Reviewed in India on December 26, 2021
Verified Purchase
Nice read!
One person found this helpful
 Report
Peter Jotter
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating insight into early British life in India
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
I found this a fascinating account. It brought alive what it was like to be English in India in the 18/19C. Although about women's lives it also told you of men's lives. Lots of first hand accounts from letters and diaries gave you a real feel for individuals. They were all so brave to travel so far with the risk of death from disease so common. So much is covered. How did they travel?. How did they live? What did the eat? What was society like? How did they mix with Indians? How did things evolve over time? I thoroughly recommend this book.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Tim Drake
5.0 out of 5 stars Full of facts, insights and humanity
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
The book covers an important but unexplored part of our joint history with India. It is full of fascinating detali, both human and practical, and grips you from the first page of the Introduction. It opens the mind to the challenges and achievements of the British settlers joining and already highly evolved and rich culture.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Ink
5.0 out of 5 stars and I can recommend this to anyone interested in the period
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
Having spent some time in Bengal in the early 70s, I found this to be enormously interesting. Dr. Wheeler has researched his subject most thoroughly, and I can recommend this to anyone interested in the period, and the plight of early adventurers.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Carolyn Ernest-Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great Book - most interesting. I know the author. Great man!
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report