Birds of Passage: Henrietta Clive's Travels in South India 1798-1801

‘In 1800 Henrietta Clive, wife of Edward Clive who had been appointed Governor of Madras in 1797, embarked on an 1,100-mile, seven-month journey round southern India with her two daughters and her Italian artist friend, Anna Tonelli … Her journals and her almost daily letters … give us a wonderful idea of life in India at the time. She is curious about everything and was a motivated and disciplined amateur in several fields, especially geology and botany… A wonderful record of her time there.’ –The Spectator, November 21, 2009

‘Henrietta Clive’s letters are remarkable on two counts. Firstly, they demonstrate that Jane Austen’s contemporaries could be as robust and enterprising as their husbands – in Henrietta’s case, considerably more so – and secondly, they direct the spotlight onto the little-visited interior of India at just the moment … when British rule was being consolidated throughout the subcontinent … The publisher – Eland – has built up a celebrated list of classic travel books, and this first-time publication is a worthy entrant to that list. Social history and imperial history blend happily with a travel tale of adventure.’
–Country Life, December 16-23, 2009