Shadows At Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century

Joya Chatterji

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LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024

‘A classic … wonderfully enjoyable’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

This is the authoritative history of South Asia in the 20th century.

Shadows at Noon tells the subcontinent’s story from the British Raj through independence and partition to the forging of the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Unlike other histories of the region which concentrate exclusively on politics, here food, leisure and the household are given as much importance as nationhood, migration, and the state.

Chatterji makes contemporary South Asia – its cultural vibrancy, diversity, social structures and political make-up – accesible to everyone. In so doing this bold, innovative, and personal work rallies against narratives of ‘inherent’ differences between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and reveals the many things its people have in common.

‘The story of South Asia told with verve, wit and brilliance’ ANURADHA ROY
‘Chatterji writes with infectious relish’ DOMINIC SANDBROOK
‘Truly magnificent’ MIHIR BOSE
‘Wonderful’ SIR MARK TULLY