India under Ripon: A Private Diary

Wilfrid Scawen BluntProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 604K words
Chapters: 61

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.India under Ripon: A Private Diary by Wilfrid Scawen BluntAuthor: Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen, 1840-1922,Language: English, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: Jun 9, 2015

Editor's review

The value of this diary lies not in offering a complete modern history of India, but in preserving Blunt's first-hand record as a British liberal politician observing India on the ground. As a private diary from the period when the Earl of Ripon served as Viceroy, it presents mainly observations from inside and outside political circles, impressions of individuals, and the everyday atmosphere of colonial governance, rather than systematic argument. Readers can sense the complex mindset of late-imperial British liberals toward Indian questions: both a will to reform and constraint by the imperial framework. The writing has the casual and subjective quality of a diary, making it suitable as auxiliary material for studying British colonial history, the prehistory of the Indian national movement, or late nineteenth-century imperial political culture. It is best read as a fragment of historical source material, in comparison with formal historical works, with attention to the author's standpoint and the limitations of his era. The Project Gutenberg public-domain electronic edition is convenient for searching and citation, but has no modern annotations, so readers need to bring their own background knowledge.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students and researchers studying the history of British colonial rule in India
Readers interested in the diaries of imperial political figures of the late nineteenth century
History students who need primary source material to support essay writing
Readers who enjoy political observations and character-sketch style texts

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers expecting a systematic general history of India or a textbook-style narrative
General readers who need modern scholarly annotations and introductions
Readers who prefer novelistic narrative or light travel reading

Reading tips

First learn about the background of India during Ripon's viceroyalty, then read the diary to reduce obstacles from names and events.
Read the diary alongside formal works of modern Indian history, distinguishing personal impressions from historical fact.
Mark places involving persons and policies as you go, verify them together after finishing, and form your own notes on the source material.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this diary suitable as an introductory book on modern Indian history?

Not very. It is a private diary, focused on the author's observations and political impressions, and lacks systematic narrative and modern annotations. Beginner readers would do best to read a general modern history of India first and then use it as supplementary source material; otherwise they may easily be troubled by names, factions, and background events.

What background knowledge is needed to read this diary?

It is best to understand the framework of British colonial governance in India in the late nineteenth century, the main policy controversies during Ripon's viceroyalty, and the early trends of the Indian national movement at that time. With this background, the diary's evaluations of individuals and its political atmosphere are easier to understand.

What should be noted when using the public-domain electronic edition?

This edition is published by Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain English electronic text, convenient for searching and citation, but it has no modern editorial annotations or introduction. When citing, check the page or paragraph in the original, supplement background material yourself, and avoid treating the author's personal judgments directly as historical fact.

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About the author

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Author · British · 1840–1922

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922) was a British poet and writer. Born at Petworth in Sussex, he entered the diplomatic service in 1858 and left it in 1869 after marrying Lady Anne Noel, a granddaughter of Byron. The couple travelled in Egypt, Asia Minor and Arabia, and founded the famous Crabbet Arabian horse stud. His book The Future of Islam was sympathetic to the Pan-Islamic movement, and he was widely known for his outspoken anti-imperialist stance. Four of his works are held here, including that study and India under Ripon: A Private Diary, as well as the verse society novel Griselda and the Victorian mystery Satan Absolved. He died in Sussex in 1922.