Letters of an Indian Judge to an English Gentlewoman
Encyclopedia
Letters of an Indian Judge to an English Gentlewoman is a book of correspondence, in the form of letters, from Arvind Nehra, an Indian judge in colonial India
. First puplished in 1934, this compilation of letters that were "unhindered by thoughts of public utterance". Nehru met the English woman, the wife of an English Colonel, at a party at Government House in Calcutta, after having recently returned from . The author is then sent to Burma and he documents his time there, suffering all the racism that was ever present in colonial India towards the first half of the twentieth century. In Burma, he befriended his superior, and when with him, is treated to a life that he had known not since he had left England
. He is able to attend the clubs whilst in this man's company, and is sometimes invited to make up a bridge four. Although, it eventually becomes apparent that he is only being treated kindly by the white ruling class when in this man's company, and when his superior leaves town for several days, he is again treated horribly.
and a family friend of J. M. Barrie (Peter and his brothers were the 'originals' for Peter Pan and the Lost Boys). A Publishers' Note printed at the beginning of the book in the first edition and reprints by Lovat Dickson and Peter Davies states, referring to the letters, "The Publishers have satisfied themselves that they are genuine".
The British Library's on-line catalogue cites a Publisher's Note in later reprints by Futura 1978(1979) and Mandarin 1992 which mentions claims that the entire work is fiction without, however, endorsing the claims or naming the claimants. The aforementioned Publisher's Note identifies the gentlewoman to whom the letters in this anonymous and frequently reprinted work are addressed as Dorothy Black
, a prolific novelist of the pre-war and immediately post-war era, who had also written about life in Burma. She became much later a vice-president of the Romantic Novelists' Association
, along with Barbara Cartland
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. First puplished in 1934, this compilation of letters that were "unhindered by thoughts of public utterance". Nehru met the English woman, the wife of an English Colonel, at a party at Government House in Calcutta, after having recently returned from . The author is then sent to Burma and he documents his time there, suffering all the racism that was ever present in colonial India towards the first half of the twentieth century. In Burma, he befriended his superior, and when with him, is treated to a life that he had known not since he had left England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He is able to attend the clubs whilst in this man's company, and is sometimes invited to make up a bridge four. Although, it eventually becomes apparent that he is only being treated kindly by the white ruling class when in this man's company, and when his superior leaves town for several days, he is again treated horribly.
Authorship
This book was originally published by Lovat Dickson in 1934 who sold his publishing list in 1938 to Peter Davies Limited which was founded by Peter Llewelyn Davies, a cousin of Daphne du MaurierDaphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
and a family friend of J. M. Barrie (Peter and his brothers were the 'originals' for Peter Pan and the Lost Boys). A Publishers' Note printed at the beginning of the book in the first edition and reprints by Lovat Dickson and Peter Davies states, referring to the letters, "The Publishers have satisfied themselves that they are genuine".
The British Library's on-line catalogue cites a Publisher's Note in later reprints by Futura 1978(1979) and Mandarin 1992 which mentions claims that the entire work is fiction without, however, endorsing the claims or naming the claimants. The aforementioned Publisher's Note identifies the gentlewoman to whom the letters in this anonymous and frequently reprinted work are addressed as Dorothy Black
Dorothy Black (novelist)
Dorothy MacLeish, née Black was a British writer of over 100 romance novels and several short stories from 1916 to 1974 under her maiden name Dorothy Black and as Peter Delius. In 1934 published anonymously Letters of an Indian Judge to an English Gentlewoman, later reedited under her name...
, a prolific novelist of the pre-war and immediately post-war era, who had also written about life in Burma. She became much later a vice-president of the Romantic Novelists' Association
Romantic Novelists' Association
The Romantic Novelists' Association is a writers' association in the UK. Founded in 1960, mainly through the efforts of Denise Robins , Barbara Cartland , Vivian Stuart , and other authors like Elizabeth Goudge, Netta Muskett, Catherine Cookson, Rosamunde Pilcher and Lucilla Andrews.The RNA runs...
, along with Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...