articulate

story of a lucky guy, play girl and a pandit cooperation together in indian interest.

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Loved it!

An eye opener for me regarding the recent history of India and it's partition. Beautifully narrated.

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1 person found this helpful

Great but narrator let it down

Great read but the choice of narrator let it down. Why choose a man to read a book by a woman? Usually I get the author or closest thing to the author to read it? And on top, why a man who clearly can't pronounce any of the Indian words, names and places. This is an Indian history book! I had to frequently stop listen to find the written version of what he said because I couldn't understand his terrible pronunciation.

Other than that, fab and interesting content.

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6 people found this helpful

The characters tell the story

I felt this book was like a collection of biographies, interwoven to tell the story of India becoming independent from the British Empire. The Mountbattens (Louis and Edwina, the latter being a substantial figure herself rather than just "the wife of"), Nehru, Gandhi and Jinnah form the nucleus, but others such as Chuchill and the British Royal Family make plenty of appearances. The approach works extremely well and the overall effect is a thoroughly enjoyable account of the period. The later lives of the main players are also covered - there is no abrupt ending with Indian independence - which adds to the biographical feel of the book.



I did feel that Louis Mountbatten, who comes out of the book rather badly, was probably unjustly treated here. I just don't believe that someone who held the posts and achieved what he did can have been as bad as is made out.



That criticism aside, this is a fine book which I will probably listen to again at some point. It is well narrated too. I have no difficulty in awarding it 5 stars and recommending it to anybody with any interest in India or the period.

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4 people found this helpful

Creation of Pakistan from the Indian Sub-continent

Don’t know where the writer gets her facts from and since she sounds so sure and certain, it would have been interesting to know the sources of this historical narrative?? If it is that.

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excellent read

Well read and written. Fascinating insight into a momentous time. It is well worth reading.

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1 person found this helpful

Very comprehensive 😀

A sweeping, well researched and well presented account of the end of the British Raj and the trauma of partition. The main protagonists and their interactions are beautifully brought to life here ☺️. If you have any interest in the characters, time or place, this book will give you more than you asked for. Enjoyable and thoroughly recommended.

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How and why the British Raj ended.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. This not only gives a very readable history of India but also an insight into the characters involved. There is a very interesting insight into the relationship between Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru. It also made me realise that Gandhi was not quite the force I had thought.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I did not have favourites. I did however come to view characters I thought I knew in a different light.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This made me embarrassed to be British and made me very thoughtful about other more modern events we have been, and are, involved in.

Any additional comments?

I found this book very easy to listen to. Stephen Thorne reads it well and kept my interest.

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3 people found this helpful

Marvellous

Marvellous read, full of details.
Informative for anyone interested in the largest Empire in the world history (by land expansion).
Intense but in a good way. It tells so many stories of important names such as Dickie Mountbatten and his wife, Gandhi, first Indian PM Nehru and the founder and First governor of Pakistan Jinnah.

Rich details on the independence of India, Pakistan then Bangladesh.

Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

Fascinating Listen

My knowledge of the partition of India was very poor.

This book fills in the gaps, explain the roles of the key players and not holding back on the appaling massacres.

Some fabulous quotes on Mount Baton and his long suffering wife Edwin's.

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