Indian Summer cover art

Indian Summer

The Secret History of the End of an Empire

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Indian Summer

By: Alex von Tunzelmann
Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £32.99

Buy Now for £32.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

At midnight on 15 August, 1947, India left the British Empire. This defining moment of world history had been brought about by a handful of people: Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery Indian prime minister; Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the new nation; and Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, despatched to get Britain out of India.

Within hours of the midnight chimes, their dreams of freedom and democracy would turn to chaos, bloodshed and war. Behind the scenes a secret personal drama was unfolding, as Edwina Mountbatten and Nehru began a passionate love affair. Steeped in the private papers and reflections of the participants, Indian Summer reveals how the acts of a few players changed the lives of millions and determined the fate of nations.

©2011 Oakhill Publishing Ltd (P)2011 Oakhill Publishing Ltd Asia Europe Great Britain India South Asia World England Imperialism War British Empire Winston Churchill United Kingdom Middle East Africa Royalty

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Koh-i-Noor cover art
Return of a King cover art
The Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence & A Division of the Spoils cover art
The British Raj cover art
Britain Alone cover art
The Anarchy cover art
Staying On cover art
A Brief History of the Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of the Nazis cover art
A Marriage of Inconvenience cover art
The Great Railway Bazaar cover art
Prague Winter cover art
The Midwife's Revolt cover art
The Summer Queen cover art
Adolf Hitler cover art
The Presidents Club cover art
The Empire Must Die cover art

Critic reviews

"A true tour de force:absorbing in it's detail and masterly in the broad sweep of its canvas." (Sir Martin Gilbert)
All stars
Most relevant  
An eye opener for me regarding the recent history of India and it's partition. Beautifully narrated.

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well read and written. Fascinating insight into a momentous time. It is well worth reading.

excellent read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A sweeping, well researched and well presented account of the end of the British Raj and the trauma of partition. The main protagonists and their interactions are beautifully brought to life here ☺️. If you have any interest in the characters, time or place, this book will give you more than you asked for. Enjoyable and thoroughly recommended.

Very comprehensive 😀

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read but the choice of narrator let it down. Why choose a man to read a book by a woman? Usually I get the author or closest thing to the author to read it? And on top, why a man who clearly can't pronounce any of the Indian words, names and places. This is an Indian history book! I had to frequently stop listen to find the written version of what he said because I couldn't understand his terrible pronunciation.

Other than that, fab and interesting content.

Great but narrator let it down

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Paint an alternative perspective as to what went down vs what's in the popular narrative
So you don't feel you are hearing the same thing again
The writer weaves his words well to make it interesting. Wasn't a struggle to finish

Good read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
story of a lucky guy, play girl and a pandit cooperation together in indian interest.

articulate

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A comprehensive account of the calamities of 1947-48, mainly told from the perspective of the Mountbattens. The original work done for this book seems to have come from the Mountbattens' archives, and the book in surprisingly indulgent to both of them. A book of this length is never going to do justice to all parties, or tell everybody's stories, but it is a relief to listen to a book on Indian independence where neither Nehru or Jinnah are excoriated.
However, the choice of audiobook narrator was completely wrong. Firstly, to have a male voice reading the work of a female historian doesn't sit right. Secondly, the narrator makes a dogs dinner of a lot of Indian personal and place names.

Excellent book, shame about the narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I felt this book was like a collection of biographies, interwoven to tell the story of India becoming independent from the British Empire. The Mountbattens (Louis and Edwina, the latter being a substantial figure herself rather than just "the wife of"), Nehru, Gandhi and Jinnah form the nucleus, but others such as Chuchill and the British Royal Family make plenty of appearances. The approach works extremely well and the overall effect is a thoroughly enjoyable account of the period. The later lives of the main players are also covered - there is no abrupt ending with Indian independence - which adds to the biographical feel of the book.



I did feel that Louis Mountbatten, who comes out of the book rather badly, was probably unjustly treated here. I just don't believe that someone who held the posts and achieved what he did can have been as bad as is made out.



That criticism aside, this is a fine book which I will probably listen to again at some point. It is well narrated too. I have no difficulty in awarding it 5 stars and recommending it to anybody with any interest in India or the period.

The characters tell the story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. This not only gives a very readable history of India but also an insight into the characters involved. There is a very interesting insight into the relationship between Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru. It also made me realise that Gandhi was not quite the force I had thought.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I did not have favourites. I did however come to view characters I thought I knew in a different light.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This made me embarrassed to be British and made me very thoughtful about other more modern events we have been, and are, involved in.

Any additional comments?

I found this book very easy to listen to. Stephen Thorne reads it well and kept my interest.

How and why the British Raj ended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Marvellous read, full of details.
Informative for anyone interested in the largest Empire in the world history (by land expansion).
Intense but in a good way. It tells so many stories of important names such as Dickie Mountbatten and his wife, Gandhi, first Indian PM Nehru and the founder and First governor of Pakistan Jinnah.

Rich details on the independence of India, Pakistan then Bangladesh.

Highly recommended.

Marvellous

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews