Shadows At Noon : The South Asian Twentieth Century

Winner of the Wolfson History Prize 2024.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2024.

This is the authoritative history of South Asia in the 20th century.

'A classic ... wonderfully enjoyable' William Dalrymple
'Chatterji writes with infectious relish' Dominic Sandbrook

Shadows at Noon tells the subcontinent's story from the British Raj through independence and partition to the forging of the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Unlike other histories of the region which concentrate exclusively on politics, here food, leisure and the household are given as much importance as nationhood, migration, and the state.

Chatterji makes contemporary South Asia—its cultural vibrancy, diversity, social structures and political make-up—accessible to everyone. In so doing, this bold, innovative, and personal work rallies against narratives of 'inherent' differences between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and reveals the many things its people have in common.

'The story of South Asia told with verve, wit and brilliance' Anuradha Roy, author of All the Lives We Never Lived
'Truly magnificent' Mihir Bose, journalist and author of The Nine Waves
'Wonderful' Sir Mark Tully, former Bureau Chief of BBC, New Delhi

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History.
Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize 2024.