Nugent, Maria

FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 8vo (221 x 138mm.), (vol.1) [vi], v-xii, 428pp.; (vol.2) xvi, 388pp., half-title, engraved portrait frontispiece in volume one, original blindstamped brown ribbed cloth, yellow endpapers, slipcase

Lady Frances Higginson, 9 Wilton Crescent, ownership inscription

Lady Maria Nugent (1771-1836) was the wife of Sir George Nugent, whose appointment as Commander in Chief in India in 1811 required her to leave England just six weeks after the birth of their son. She was grief-stricken, and this separation coloured both her first experiences of the country and is reflected in her journal, which like her earlier account of her experiences in the West Indies (see previous lot), was published posthumously.

The private nature of both her journals permitted the author to explore topics and her opinions with a liberty which would not have been possible had they always been intended for publication. Most enlightening for the later reader is Lady Nugent's concern for the liaisons entered into by young British men with the local women, which caused her great disquiet in Jamaica and on this trip to India. Alongside this, she provides a perceptive picture of relations with Indian leaders at a time when British rule was yet in the balance.