Wanderings in India and Other Sketches of Life in Hindostan

Lang was a friend and student of India, its cultures and people, at a time when this was hardly a fashionable stance among white colonial gentlemen.' - The Spectator Written by writer, journalist and Indophile John Lang, Wanderings in India is one of the best and most engaging, personal accounts of India in the nineteenth century. Spanning the years during and after the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion and taken from Lang's contributions to the weekly magazine, Household Words, it includes a series of 'sketches of life in Hindostan' as encountered by Lang during his travels. Included in this book are stories like 'The Ranee of Jhansi', an account of Lang's personal meeting with Rani Lakshmibai regarding the infamous Doctrine of Lapse; 'The Mahommedan Mother', a powerful portrayal of the predicament of Indian women who had relationships with European men; and 'The Himalayas', an account of Lang's adventures in the hills, camping and shooting kakur, bear, pheasant, ghooral and the like. From wonderfully evocative descriptions of the Himalayas to insightful narratives of his encounters with historical figures, Lang's remarkable book transcends genres and moves effortlessly from memoir to travelogue to fiction, but never fails to delight and enlighten the reader.