Daughters of Empire is a sweeping family saga bound by the themes of family, migration and culture clash. At its heart is a tale of two sisters: Ishani, who stays in Trinidad with the family business, and Amira who emigrates to England.
Ishani is a richly comic creation: a good-hearted manipulator determined to keep a grasp on her younger sister across the seas. Soul-searching Amira, however, wonders how she will raise three daughters away from home, and how a traditional Hindu upbringing will clash with the seductions of British individualism. And as she soon discovers, daughters of empire – even those with the very best educations – may never quite fit in, especially with those who see only colour.
“Powerful and poetic” – Time Out.
Lakshmi Persaud was born in 1939 in Trinidad. She studied at Queen’s University, Belfast, and later at Reading University. She has lived mainly in the UK since the 1970s. Her novels are Butterfly in the Wind (Peepal Tree, 1990), Sastra (Peepal Tree, 1993), For the Love of My Name (Peepal Tree, 2000) and Raise the Lanterns High (2004).