The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh – A Woman in World History

I resolved to get back on track with posting for 2008 and have decided to stick with the brief synopsis plus pros/cons format.

As Linda Colley, the author of The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh, states in the introduction, this book tells three stories – the life of Elizabeth Marsh, the lives of her extended family members and most importantly, the historical events which were taking place during this time period. This book is not a biography of Elizabeth Marsh; it is more of a historical textbook with Elizabeth’s story interwoven throughout. I think that Colley found that Marsh was the perfect vehicle to describe the tumult of globalization during this time period. None of Marsh’s travels or experiences could have occurred were it not for the spread of English imperalism, the Revolutionary War and the economic ties that were beginning to interconnect the world through the East-West trade of salt, tea, textiles, etc.

Elizabeth Marsh lived from 1735 to 1785 and during her life she lived in England, travelled to Morocco (she was the first woman in history to write about Morocco in the English language), and lived and travelled extensively in India. What is remarkable is that most of her life was spent journeying alone or in the company of men who were neither her relatives or husband.

Marsh was a resourceful, independent woman who continually changed her path depending on her financial resources and personal situation at the time.

I admire Colley’s decision to interweave a biography with a historical narrative. However, I did not feel that Colley had enough information to write a true biography of Marsh. She was able to state the facts of Marsh’s life, but there was minimal information as to her state of mind and emotions which is what typically makes biographies engaging. While I learned a lot about England’s imperialist developments during that time period, the Royal Imperial Navy, the East India Company and global trade routes in the mid eighteenth century, I was never fully immersed in Marsh’s life.

The “+”:

- Detailed historical description of global events in the mid 18th century
- Lots of detail around the merchant society of that time and the expansion of British imperialism in India
- Impressive research into the extended Marsh family and how members of their family dispersed around the world

The “-”:

- Not enough information about what made Elizabeth Marsh tick (because that documentation doesn’t exist)
- Very dry; I would have preferred if this book was made into a historical novel and Marsh’s emotions and relationships embellished
- Tough read unless you are a world history/women’s history fan