The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj

By the late nineteenth century, Britain's colonial reign seemed to know no limit?and India was the sparkling jewel in the Imperial crown. Many of Her Majesty's best and brightest young men departed for the Raj to make their careers, and their fortunes, as bureaucrats, soldiers, and businessmen. But in their wake they left behind countless young ladies who, suddenly bereft of eligible bachelors, found themselves facing an uncertain future. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, some of these women decided to follow suit and abandon their native Britain for India's exotic glamour and?with men outnumbering women by roughly four to one in the Raj?the best chance they had at finding a husband.