The Brown Brontë

Something special on the blog today, readers: I'm thrilled to be chatting to Kate Morrison, author of stunning debut A Book of Secrets, as part of its Random Things Tour. Join us as we talk about historical research, women's independence and racism in Elizabethan England. "A Book of Secrets is the story of a woman named Susan Charlewood living in Elizabethan England. Born in what is now Ghana, Susan is enslaved by the Portuguese but later rescued by British sailors, who bring her to England. Once in England, she is raised in an English Cathoic household. When Susan comes of age, the family marry her off to an older Catholic man, John Charlewood. Charlewood runs a printing press and uses it to supply the Papist nobility with illegal Catholic texts and foment rebellion amongst the Catholic underclass. When Charlewood, Susan takes over the business and uses her new position to find out more about her origins.  A look at racial relationships at the beginning of the eve of the

 Today is the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh. Growing up, my sisters and I would hear stories from parents and relatives about the War of Independence of 1971. We would go to community events commemorating Bangladesh Independence Day, Victory Day, Language Martyrs Day, and listen to veterans and members of the community who lived through that period, talking about their experiences. As they stood in front of rows of nodding elders and bored schoolchildren, the pain and pride in their voices rumbled through the microphone in their hands and filled the small community hall, along with the aroma of biryani stacked in boxes at the back, waiting to be handed round later.     Although we often had mixed feelings about sitting through those three-hour programmes, I've begun to realise that those parents who dragged their children along to those events knew that one day there would be nobody left alive who had witnessed that history.     As second or third generation di

For World Poetry Day I'd like to share with you this poem by the Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. I thought it was particularly apt as in just a few days it will be the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence, and I came across these verses while I was translating a chapter from the war journal of Jahanara Imam. (Read some other excerpts I have translated here and here .) In the book, Imam is remembering how her son, Rumi, who fought as a guerrilla activist against the Pakistan army, would quote these verses. I loved the way the natural beauty of Bengal is depicted here, so I had a go at translating it. Let me know what you think of it! Follow me on  Twitter ,  Instagram  and  Facebook . Join the conversation at  The Brown Brontë's Book Club  .  

The pandemic has meant lots of us have not been able to see or visit our own mothers for a whole year or more. There are many who are dealing with the pain of having lost their mothers during this time. For those of you who are yourselves mothers – whether you’re homeschooling, working from home or not for whatever reason, worrying about work, finances, the mess in your home, the amount of time the kids are spending staring at screens, or generally feeling like you’re doing a rubbish job – fear not, you are not alone. I have put together some of my recent reads about the joys and sorrows, fears and hopes of modern motherhood. They’re not all pandemic-specific, but a lot of them focus on the big eternal concerns as well as the minutiae of mothering. Sad or funny, long or short, thrilling or thoughtful – I hope there is something here to suit different tastes. And the best part is, you don’t have to be a parent to enjoy any of them! So take a look below, at my Six Striking Titles f

This was one of my most-anticipated reads for 2021, and I am happy to tell you it lived up to the promise of its stunning cover.  Kololo Hill follows an Indian Ugandan family as they experience the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin, in 1972. Those of you who follow my blog know that I'm always looking for South Asian stories, but I don't think I've ever read a novel about this particular episode in history. The book is set in Kampala and London, where the family is forced to flee to. It is movingly-written, with evocative and sensuous descriptions of life in Kampala for the Asian community - the luxury and affluence, the natural beauty, and the glittering social events radiate warmth and richness from the page. The descriptions in this book are so fresh and immediate, I truly felt as if I were there in the heat and lush greenness of Kampala, or in the cold safety of the English army barracks.  Neema Shah convincingly renders the confusion and fear following Amin&#