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The Fishing Fleet
The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj | Anne de Courcy
7 posts | 4 read | 8 to read
The adventurous young women who sailed to India during the Raj in search of husbands. From the late 19th century, when the Raj was at its height, many of Britain's best and brightest young men went out to India to work as administrators, soldiers and businessmen. With the advent of steam travel and the opening of the Suez Canal, countless young women, suffering at the lack of eligible men in Britain, followed in their wake. This amorphous band was composed of daughters returning after their English education, girls invited to stay with married sisters or friends, and yet others whose declared or undeclared goal was simply to find a husband. They were known as the Fishing Fleet, and this book is their story, hitherto untold. For these young women, often away from home for the first time, one thing they could be sure of was a rollicking good time. By the early 20th century, a hectic social scene was in place, with dances, parties, amateur theatricals, picnics, tennis tournaments, cinemas and gymkhanas, with perhaps a tiger shoot and a glittering dinner at a raja's palace thrown in. And, with men outnumbering women by roughly four to one, romances were conducted at alarming speed and marriages were frequent. But after the honeymoon, life often changed dramatically: whisked off to a remote outpost with few other Europeans for company, and where constant vigilance was required to guard against disease, they found it a far cry from the social whirlwind of their first arrival. Anne de Courcy's sparkling narrative is enriched by a wealth of first-hand sources - unpublished memoirs, letters and diaries rescued from attics - which bring this forgotten era vividly to life.
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Librarybelle
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Check in time for #LiteraryCrew ! Any thoughts to share on this month‘s book? Discussion on the 30th!

And, don‘t forget, if you are interested in next year‘s titles, voting ends tomorrow. I will view the votes and get the schedule put together hopefully before the US Thanksgiving holiday!

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LitsyEvents
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Repost for @Librarybelle
#LiteraryCrew: our next #buddyread title is this nonfiction book by de Courcy - perfect for#NFNovember! Discussion will take place on November 30th.
All are welcome to join! This is a low key buddy read. @Librarybelle posts periodic checkins during the month, along with the discussion questions on the last of the month. Please let her know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list.
2025 voting starting soon.

Librarybelle Thanks for reposting! 3w
36 likes1 comment
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Librarybelle
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#LiteraryCrew : Our next #buddyread title is this nonfiction book by de Courcy—perfect for #NFNovember ! Discussion will take place on November 30th.

All are welcome to join! This is a low key buddy read. I post periodic checkins during the month, along with the discussion questions on the last of the month. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list.

Thanks for the 2025 suggestions! I‘ll get voting ready very soon!

45 likes1 comment
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LitsyEvents
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Repost for @Librarybelle

November‘s #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead is a first: a nonfiction! This is an account of the women who left Britain in search of husbands and adventure in India in the late 19th century.

Read at your own pace. I will post periodic checkins throughout the month. Discussion questions will be posted November 30th. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list!

AnishaInkspill I have too many other reads to be able to join you, but tis looks really interesting, thanks for the pointer 🙂 1mo
Librarybelle Thanks for the repost! 1mo
Librarybelle @AnishaInkspill I hope you enjoy when you are able to read it! 1mo
kspenmoll Just got the book! 3w
31 likes4 comments
blurb
Librarybelle
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November‘s #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead is a first: a nonfiction! This is an account of the women who left Britain in search of husbands and adventure in India in the late 19th century.

Read at your own pace. I will post periodic checkins throughout the month. Discussion questions will be posted November 30th. Please let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list!

And don‘t forget to submit title suggestions for next year!

Librarybelle I also got a copy today for 2.99 as a Kindle sale…FYI! 1mo
Karisa Scooped it up! Never heard of this topic and always trying to get myself to read some nonfiction 😊. Thanks! 1mo
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CatLass007 I‘m skipping this one but please continue to tag me because I‘ll be picking back up in December. 1mo
Librarybelle Sounds good, @CatLass007 ! 1mo
PurpleyPumpkin Ha, I didn‘t realize it was nonfiction! I‘ve got my copy and I‘m looking forward to reading it in November. 👍🏽 1mo
51 likes8 comments
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squirrelbrain
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Pickpick

A fascinating look at the lives of girls and young women (some still in their teens) who travelled to #india as ‘marriage material‘ for the thousands of single British men serving the Raj.

The book started slowly, with too many snippets about too many girls but became far more interesting after the first few chapters.

I think you‘ll like it @MsMelissa - I‘d certainly give it a go.

#readingasia2021
#booked2021 #containsphotos

Cinfhen Cover is pretty awesome 🤩 4y
Librarybelle Stacking! 4y
MsMelissa Oh good!! 4y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage Stacking - sounds fascinating! 4y
LeahBergen I love your #containsphotos tag! 😆 I always want to know that! 4y
Cathythoughts Hi Helen ! Your parcel arrived ! Thankyou , I‘ll wait till my birthday & open & post then ... Thankyou 😘 exciting 😁 4y
squirrelbrain Oh good! Thanks for letting me know @Cathythoughts 😘 4y
rubyslippersreads This looks great! 4y
82 likes5 stack adds8 comments
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Laetitia.Michau
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A little bit of non-fiction that feels a lot like fiction.📚