Hindoo Holiday by J. R. Ackerley

Hindoo Holiday

J. R. Ackerley

New York Review Books · Paperback · January 31, 2000

In the 1920s, the young J.

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Who it’s for
Ackerley’s journal-based travel account finds humor in an eccentric Indian court.
Themes
Travel in India, Life in a princely court, Eccentric habits and conversations
Genres
India & South Asia Travel, Personal Memoirs, Diaries & Journals Collection

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About this book

In the 1920s, the young J. R. Ackerley spent several months in India as the personal secretary to the maharajah of a small Indian principality. In his journals, Ackerley recorded the Maharajah's fantastically eccentric habits and riddling conversations, and the odd shambling day-to-day life of his court. Hindoo Holiday is an intimate and very funny account of an exceedingly strange place, and one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century travel literature.

Courtly Oddities

Ackerley’s journal-based travel account finds humor in an eccentric Indian court.

Come here for

  • A personal, funny view of a small principality’s court
  • Travel writing attentive to the odd

Expect

  • Riddling conversations and eccentric habits
  • The court’s odd, shambling daily rhythms

Where it sits

India & South Asia Travel78%
Personal Memoirs45%
Diaries & Journals Collection40%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Personal Memoirs
  • India & South Asia Travel
  • Literary Travel
Authors
J. R. Ackerley
Publisher
New York Review Books
Published
January 31, 2000
Format
Paperback
Theme
Travel in India · Life in a princely court · Eccentric habits and conversations
Reading lane
Personal Memoirs