Sex and Sensibility. Richard Blechynden's Calcutta Diaries, 1791-1822

Abstract

This book presents a vast diary kept by an English surveyor, architect, and builder in Calcutta, using it to draw an intimate portrait of daily life, emotions, mores, households, and relations between men and women, especially between Blechynden and several of his bibis (concubines). The bibis were Indian, mixed race, and European, and are given a voice in the diaries and this book. This allows comparisons of their situation, conduct, and expectations.