Empire Families : Britons and Late Imperial India

What was life like for the British men, women, and children who lived in late imperial India while serving the Raj? __Empire Families__ treats the Raj as a family affair and examines how, and why, many remained linked with India over several generations.Due to the fact that India was never meant for permanent European settlement, many families developed deep-rooted ties with India while never formally emigrating. Their lives were dominated by long periods of residence abroad punctuated by repeated travels between Britain and India: childhood overseas followed by separation from parents and education in Britain; adult returns to India through careers or marriage; furloughs, and ultimately retirement, in Britain. As a result, many Britons neither felt themselves to be rooted in India, nor felt completely at home when back in Britain. Their permanent impermanence led to the creation of distinct social realities and cultural identities.__Empire Families__ sets out to recreate this society by looking at a series of families, their lives in India, and their travels back to Britain. Focusing for the first time on the experiences of parents and children alike, and including the Beveridge, Butler, Orwell, and Kipling families, Elizabeth Buettner uncovers the meanings of growing up in the Raj and an itinerant imperial lifestyle.

What was life like for the British men, women, and children who lived in late imperial India while serving the Raj? Empire Families treats the Raj as a family affair and examines how, and why, many remained linked with India over several generations.
Due to the fact that India was never meant for permanent European settlement, many families developed deep-rooted ties with India while never formally emigrating. Their lives were dominated by long periods of residence abroad punctuated by repeated travels between Britain and India: childhood overseas followed by separation from parents and education in Britain; adult returns to India through careers or marriage; furloughs, and ultimately retirement, in Britain. As a result, many Britons neither felt themselves to be rooted in India, nor felt completely at home when back in Britain. Their permanent impermanence led to the creation of distinct social realities and cultural identities.
Empire Families sets out to recreate this society by looking at a series of families, their lives in India, and their travels back to Britain. Focusing for the first time on the experiences of parents and children alike, and including the Beveridge, Butler, Orwell, and Kipling families, Elizabeth Buettner uncovers the meanings of growing up in the Raj and an itinerant imperial lifestyle.

"Introduction : making 'British-Indians' : children, family traditions of Indian service, and cycles of migration"--BOOK JACKET. "Conclusion : plain tales and family romances : remembering the Raj in post-Colonial Britain" "In this first study of family life in British India, Elizabeth Buettner combines an analysis of Rudyard Kipling's, William Beverdige's, Rab Butler's and Rumer Godden's families with many lesser-known examples to highlight the significance of growing up in the raj and an itinerant imperial lifestyle."--Jacket 'Empire Families' focuses on childhood among middle-class Britons in India between the late 19th century and decolonization and the impact this had on the raj. In this study of family life in colonial India, Buettner highlights the social significance ofboth growing up in the raj and the itinerant colonial lifestyle Focuses on childhood among middle-class Britons in India between the late nineteenth century and decolonization, and the impact that this had on the raj. This study of family life in colonial India highlights the social significance both of growing up in the raj and of the itinerant colonial lifestyle.