Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary

by Anita Anand

Overview

In 1876 Sophia Duleep Singh was born into Indian royalty. Her father, Maharajah Duleep Singh, was heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, one of the greatest empires of the Indian subcontinent, a realm that stretched from the lush Kashmir Valley to the craggy foothills of the Khyber Pass and included the mighty cities of Lahore and Peshawar. It was a territory irresistible to the British, who plundered everything, including the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond.

Exiled to England, the dispossessed Maharajah transformed his estate at Elveden in Suffolk into a Moghul palace, its grounds stocked with leopards, monkeys and exotic birds. Sophia, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, was raised a genteel aristocratic Englishwoman: presented at court, afforded grace and favor lodgings at Hampton Court Palace and photographed wearing the latest fashions for the society pages. But when, in secret defiance of the British government, she travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary.

Sophia transcended her heritage to devote herself to battling injustice and inequality, a far cry from the life to which she was born. Her causes were the struggle for Indian Independence, the fate of the lascars, the welfare of Indian soldiers in the First World War—and, above all, the fight for female suffrage. She was bold and fearless, attacking politicians, putting herself in the front line and swapping her silks for a nurse's uniform to tend wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefields. Meticulously researched and passionately written, this enthralling story of the rise of women and the fall of empire introduces an extraordinary individual and her part in the defining moments of recent British and Indian history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408835470
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	07/19/2016
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	592,124
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist for almost twenty years. She is the presenter of Any Answers on BBC Radio 4. During her career, she has also presented Drive, Doubletake and the Anita Anand Show on Radio 5 Live, and Saturday Live, The Westminster Hour, Beyond Westminster, Midweek and Woman's Hour on Radio 4. On BBC television she has presented The Daily Politics, The Sunday Politics and Newsnight. She lives in west London. This is her first book.

Table of Contents

Prologue xiii

Part I Sophia's Childhood and History, 1876-1898

1 Roots of Rebellion 3

2 Do Not Be Conspicuous 26

3 The Suffolk Mahal 41

4 The Fall 52

5 Scramble for India 67

6 The Old Nature Rises 83

7 Polishing the Diamond 103

Part II The Revolutionary Years, 1898-1914

8 A Thoroughly English Girl 127

9 The Cubs Come Home 147

10 Patron of Lost Souls 162

11 The Princess and the Madman 176

12 The Blood is Up 184

13 India Awake! 201

14 The Lost Princess 221

15 The Hampton Court Harridan 237

16 A Familiar Enemy 258

17 We Have No Hold 275

18 Indian Clubs 291

Part III War and Peace, 1914-1948

19 The Lady Vanishes 305

20 Such Troublesome Times 326

21 A Solemn Promise 354

Epilogue 372

Notes 379

Bibliography 398

Acknowledgements 402

Index 406

Editorial Reviews

Part of a biographer's job is to rescue forgotten figures, and in Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary Anita Anand has salvaged an extraordinary one…Spanning a century of tremendous upheaval in India and England, this lively…biography is a compendium of monumental figures, from Winston Churchill to Mohandas Gandhi to Emmeline Pankhurst.

The New York Times Book Review - Suzanne Berne

11/03/2014
As a ward of the British government born in exile, Indian princess Sophia Duleep Singh embodied a curious mix of East and West—and an equally intriguing combination of patriotism and socially conscious rebelliousness. Journalist and BBC personality Anand writes a sympathetic biography that reads almost like a novel, illustrating how a forbidden trip to India changed the fashion-conscious party devotee into a woman seeking fulfillment in a society that relished her royal status and position as Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, but punished her for the color of her skin. While deeply involved in the early 20th-century militant suffrage movement, she also raised funds and helped nurse wounded Indians sent to England to recover during WWI. Anand successfully shows how the inner struggle between her native English culture and her Indian heritage wore on Sophia, resulting in depression and loneliness. Emmeline Pankhurst and a young Winston Churchill make appearances during Sophia’s suffrage efforts, but it’s Gandhi’s evolution that adds depth to Sophia’s transformation, humanizing both in the process. One part glittering socialite, one part activist, and entirely unique, Sophia adds a previously unexplored facet to the tumultuous progressive era that remade the Western world. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"A groundbreaking work that at last tells the important story of Sophia Duleep Singh: unflinching princess-in-exile, doughty moderniser and tenacious suffragette. From the streets of India to the corridors of power, Sophia artfully examines the tensions between East and West; and one woman's choice between fighting for freedom and staying silent." —Amanda Foreman, author of A WORLD ON FIRE

"Anita Anand has definitively restored to history one of the most important and charismatic figures in the suffragette movement. This thoroughly absorbing and deftly informative account instantly pulled me into the irresistible adventure and vitality of Sophia Duleep Singh’s defiant and innovative existence. Anand’s timely biography is a wonderful testament to Sophia’s lifetime of commitment to Indian independence and the advancement of women, and to the range and courage of her achievements." —Rachel Holmes, author of ELEANOR MARX: A LIFE

"Anand writes a sympathetic biography that reads almost like a novel . . . One part glittering socialite, one part activist, and entirely unique, Sophia adds a previously unexplored facet to the tumultuous progressive era that remade the Western world." —Publishers Weekly

"Anand writes with a journalist’s sense for a solid story and a historian’s eye for fascinating anecdotes. Filled with rich detail and walks through little-known avenues of the past." —starred review, Library Journal

"A richly textured portrait . . . An excellent job of detailing the social and historical backdrop while highlighting the daring and revolutionary nature of Sophia’s choices and accomplishments." —Booklist

"Providing a rare glimpse into imperialism’s intimate effects, this biography explores the forces that radicalized [Sophia], including an early trip to India and the British aristocracy’s refusal to countenance mixed-race unions, which prevented her from marrying." —The New Yorker

"Anand has done a yeoman's job of pulling together Sophia's fascinating biographical history." —Los Angeles Times

"Part of a biographer’s job is to rescue forgotten figures, and in Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary Anita Anand has salvaged an extraordinary one . . . Spanning a century of tremendous upheaval in India and England, this lively if overstuffed biography is a compendium of monumental figures, from Winston Churchill to Mohandas Ghandi to Emmeline Parkhurst." —New York Times Book Review

"An engrossing new biography . . . The book is a reminder that many interesting historical figures are still waiting to have their stories told." —The Daily Beast

"Anand astutely draws connections between the rise of nationalism across Britain’s colonies in the early 20th century and the intensifying battles for women’s suffrage and labor rights . . . Anand is able to highlight how the British government’s entwined aristocratic and colonial dominance made it especially resistant to the women’s claims." —The Washington Post

"In Sophia Ms. Anand tells her subject’s story with verve and on a broad canvas, an accomplishment because so few of the princess’s own writings remain." —Wall Street Journal Weekend

"Anita Anand’s groundbreaking biography, thoroughly researched and written with considerable verve, does her subject full justice—and then some." —Washington Times

"Anand does an excellent job of providing as full a background as possible to Sophia's early life, and it is packed with incident and often moments of real hardship and despair . . . Anand gives us a great deal of background information about the political climate, as well as entries from Sophia's 1906-1907 diaries, which do let us hear her own voice." —Independent on Sunday

"The best stories, as we know, are often too far-fetched for fiction. This is one such, the long forgotten tale of Sophia Duleep Singh." —The Times

"Anita Anand’s Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary unearths the extraordinary story of a forgotten British-Indian suffragette who went from Queen Victoria’s goddaughter to militant activist." —Helen Lewis, Guardian

"A remarkable Sikh Suffragette . . . much admired . . . Sophia is a gem of a subject, in every sense. She and her siblings were frequently decked in diamonds and their story is rich on exotic jewels . . . Despite her illustrious background, Sophia might have remained a footnote to the extraordinary history of her legendary grandfather and spendthrift father, who indulged in an orgy of adultery, drinking and plotting against dastardly Brits, had Anand not stumbled upon her." —Glasgow Herald

"Princess Sophia Duleep Singh’s life is one of those stories that begs for a gifted storyteller. Anand, a journalist, is more than up to the task . . . The book is an illuminating study of the splashes of color that complicated the often gray Victorian scene." —Daily Beast "Best Biographies of 2015"

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2014
BBC radio and television journalist Anand tells the story of Sophia Duleep Singh (1876–1948), born in exile in England but the rightful heiress to a rich and mighty Indian empire—the Kingdom of the Sikhs. Raised as a privileged Englishwoman with Queen Victoria for a godmother, Sophia's life took an unexpected turn when she dared to travel to her ancestral home in India. While there, she found herself moved by the plight of her kinsmen who languished under British rule, and upon her return to England she realized that she could no longer be content with the dog shows and frivolous parties that formerly filled her days. Instead, Sophia embarked on a rebellious journey that would result in her championing the causes of Indian independence, women's rights, and even Indian soldiers fighting for the British crown during World War I. VERDICT Anand writes with a journalist's sense for a solid story and a historian's eye for fascinating anecdotes. Filled with rich detail and walks through little-known avenues of the past, this work is bound to enchant history lovers, those interested in women's studies, Anglophiles, and anyone who enjoys biographies.—Laura Marcus, Odenton, MD

Library Journal