Original letters from India
By: Eliza Fay ; annotated by E.M. Forster ; introduction by Simon Winchester.
Contributors: Forster, E. M. 1879-1970.
Series: New York Review Books classics; New York Review Books classics
Publisher: New York Review Books
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781590173367
Subjects: Fay, Eliza, -- 1756-1816 -- Travel -- India; Fay, Eliza, -- 1756-1816 -- Correspondence; Women -- England -- Correspondence; Women -- Travel -- India -- History -- 18th century; British -- Travel -- India -- History -- 18th century; India -- Description and travel; India -- History -- 18th century; India -- Social life and customs -- 18th century; Eurasia -- Description and travel; Calcutta (India) -- Description and travel
Genres: Correspondence
Description: Eliza Fay's origins are obscure; she was not beautiful, rich, or outlandishly accomplished. Yet the letters she wrote from her 1779 voyage across the globe captivated E. M. Forster, who arranged for their British publication in 1925. The letters have been delighting readers ever since with their truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twists and turns, their earthy humor, and their depiction of an indomitable woman. When the intrepid Mrs. Fay departed from Dover more than two hundred years ago, she embarked on a grueling twelve-month journey through much of Europe, up the Nile, over the deserts of Egypt, and finally across the ocean to India. Along the way her party encountered wars, territorial disputes, brigands, and even imprisonment. Fay was a contemporary of Jane Austen, but her adventures are worthy of a novel by Daniel Defoe. These letters--unfiltered, forthright, and often hilarious--bring the perils and excitements of an earlier age to life. -- Back cover.
Notes: Originally published: London : Hogarth Press, 1925.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction / Simon Winchester; title: Introductory notes / [by E.M. Forster]; title: Manuscript of the letters; title: Editions of the letters; title: Mrs. Fay's career; title: Her style; her character; title: The historcial background; title: Calcutta in 1780; title: The Devis portrait; title: Preface; title: Original letters; title: Terminal notes / by E.M. Forster; title: Index of main references.