Nobody's Children

A Leonaur original---First time in print The life of a nurse in the last days of the Raj Irene Green's book is a Leonaur first edition-never before in print. Irene was born in Agra, India the child of a European father (born in India to English parents) and a Eurasian (Portuguese/Indian) mother. Although she was of mixed race, unlike her sister who was darker complexioned, she had fair skin and hair. Born in 1906, Irene quickly realised that although she considered herself part of the British Raj and was European in appearance, as an Anglo-Indian she lived between two societies and cultures-she felt she was alienated from one society and was never quite unconditionally accepted by the other. The title of Irene's book takes its inspiration from this abiding fact and within its pages she explains how this impacted on her everyday life as she negotiated the racial prejudices of India in the first decades of the twentieth century. Her fascinating story, of course, has another aspect, for Irene grew to maturity and decided upon a career in nursing. While the issues surrounding her background remained ever present, she has left posterity an essential account, from a unique perspective, of British India at its zenith. A contract to nurse in Peshawar on the North-West Frontier brought her the 1930-31 Frontier Medal and her account of this part of her life makes gripping reading. Irene Green's story is a highly entertaining and compelling one that will be appreciated by all those interested in the last days of the Raj and the difficulties of the mixed race families of India. It is also a delightful story of a young woman's life, full of incident, anecdote, adventure and romance. Highly recommended. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.