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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Amitav Ghosh’s nonfiction book Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories follows the opium trade across Britain, India and China, arguing that it helped shape imperial finances, cultural history and the modern world. It combines history with travelogue and memoir, including Ghosh’s reflections on his own family history.
What is Smoke and Ashes about?
Ghosh traces how the British Empire exported opium produced in India for sale in China. Macmillan’s description presents the trade as a way Britain addressed its trade imbalance with China and says opium revenues became important to imperial finances. The book follows consequences across the three countries and beyond, connecting commerce and empire with cultural change and personal histories.
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That is the book’s historical argument, rather than a claim that one trade alone created the modern world. The British Academy’s description likewise characterizes Ghosh’s account as one of a trade engineered by the British Empire with transformative consequences. These summaries convey the book’s interpretation; they are not, by themselves, independent verification of every causal claim.
How does the book tell this history?
Smoke and Ashes is not presented as a conventional academic monograph. Macmillan and the British Academy describe it as a blend of history, travelogue and memoir. Ghosh moves between the broad history of the trade and his own encounters with its legacy, including connections to his family history.
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This approach makes the book both a historical account and a personal inquiry: it asks how a long-distance trade affected societies, while also considering how that history is remembered and carried forward.
How is it connected to the Ibis Trilogy?
Ghosh’s publisher says his research into opium began while he was working on the Ibis Trilogy, his historical-fiction series. Smoke and Ashes revisits the world behind that fiction, including sailors, soldiers and Indian Ocean routes. The two projects are related, but they serve different purposes: the trilogy tells a fictional narrative, while Smoke and Ashes makes an explicit nonfiction historical argument.
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Was Smoke and Ashes shortlisted for an award?
Yes. The British Academy listed Smoke and Ashes on the shortlist for its 2024 Book Prize. That is a dated recognition, not a claim that the book won the prize.
Who might want to read it?
- Readers interested in the connected histories of Britain, India and China under empire.
- Readers looking for a narrative approach that combines historical explanation with travelogue and memoir.
- Readers of the Ibis Trilogy who want to explore the historical setting behind Ghosh’s fiction through nonfiction.
Macmillan identifies a US hardcover edition as ISBN 9780374602925. Edition availability may vary by region.
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Sources and further reading
- Macmillan: Smoke and Ashes — publisher description and US hardcover details.
- The British Academy: 2024 Book Prize — shortlist and book description.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
