Elizabeth Marsh: A Real Harry Flashman

Are fans of the late George Macdonald Fraser's Flashman Papers in it for the swash-buckling Victorian history or his disgraceful behaviour?

The Rugby bully of Tom Brown's School Days fame has remarkable luck at extricating himself from near-death scrapes, but his ability to travel far and wide is beyond belief.

The now defunct Globe Corner Bookstore,
once part of the Cambridge bookstore
pilgrimage trail (Courtessy: Wikipedia)

Not so, according to The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh, the extraordinary true story of an ordinary 18th century woman. Author of The Female Captive, Marsh was conceived in Jamaica then resided in Menorca, Gibraltar and London. Caught up in political events and the vagaries of international trade, she saw the Caribbean, Americas, Europe, Asia, Pacific, and Africa. Then and now, it's a question of family and temperament, says historian Linda Colley.

Should you enjoy Elizabeth Marsh, try Colley's Captives: Britain, Empire, and the World (1600-1850). I couldn't choose -- so I bought both.

Purchased in London, 
my copy is like this.

Courtesy: Amazon.ca

Another heartily recommend spin on the British empire is Niall Ferguson's door-stopper, Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power -- an enthusiastic description of the unprecedented opportunity for advancement afforded to his Scottish ancestors, plus much, much, more.

The theme continues in Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire; shorter, contemporary and satisfying.

More than just a great tune.
Courtesy of amazon.ca.

If Elizabeth Marsh's descriptions of slavery become overwhelming, try watching Amazing Grace, the tale of William Wilberforce, abolushonist, MP and friend of Pitt. Then read Eric Metaxas' excellent tome, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.

Popularly known as Pam. 
Courtesy amazon.co.uk.

For late Georgian, early Victorian empire-building, there's Palmerston: The People's Darling. Witness to the French Revolution and European traveller as a boy, he determined foreign policy. He knew he was right². Naturally, Victoria and Albert hated the man.    

Prefer fiction? There's always Scott's Raj Quartet, or its superb dramatization, The Jewel in the Crown. Pico Iyar says¹ not seeing himself, he attended an all-white English public school. Do you think character Hari Kumar felt the same?

Notes

¹ I'm uncertain where. The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home (interesting, but depressing)? The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto (helped me over culture shock in Japan)?

² Apologies to Trollope.

Books mentioned

• Tom Brown's School Days
• The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History (a New York Times Book Review 10 Best Book of the Year)
• Captives: Britain, Empire, and the World (1600-1850)
• Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power 
• Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire
• Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery
• Palmerston: The People's Darling
• Raj Quartet
• The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home
• The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto
• He Knew He was Right (Anthony Trollope)