Love, Class and Empire - An English Family Saga in the Middle East

Early twentieth-century Persia and the Persian Gulf presented a largely blank slate to the British, best known only as a vital conduit to India and a site of contest - the 'great game' - with the Russian Empire. As oil discoveries and increasing trade brought new attention, the expanding telegraph and river shipping industries attracted resourceful men into junior positions in remote outposts. Love, Class and Empire explores the experiences of two of these men and their families. Drawing on a wealth of personal letters and diaries, A. James Hammerton examines the complexities of expatriate life in Iran and Iraq, in particular the impact of rapid social mobility on ordinary Britons and their families in the late imperial era. Uniquely, the study blends histories of empire with histories of marriage and family, closely exploring the nature of expatriate love and sexuality. In the process, Hammerton discloses a tender expatriate love story and offers a moving account of transient life in a corner of the informal empire.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. White-Collar mobility: the making of Edgar Wilson; 2. Telegraphy as social lubricant: William Cooper's expatriate journey; 3. An expatriate young lady: the education and courtship of Winifred Cooper; 4. Marriage, love and war in Persia: the domestic costs of mobility; 5. An expatriate marriage: love, sexuality and separation; 6. 'Home for good with a loving and grand wife': suburban retirement; 7. Fatal wanderlust and home settlement; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

A. James Hammerton is Emeritus Scholar at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Previous book publications include: Migrants of the British Diaspora since the 1960s (2017), Ten Pound Poms: Australia's Invisible Migrants (with Alistair Thomson, 2005), Cruelty and Companionship: Conflict in Nineteenth Century Married Life, (1992) and Emigrant Gentlewomen: Genteel Poverty and Female Emigration, 1830–1914, (1979, 2016).

Product details

• Authors: A. James (La Trobe University Hammerton, Hammerton A. James
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.07.2025
• EAN: 9781009541763
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0954176-3
• No. of pages: 268
• Series: Modern British Histories
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Iran, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, European History, 20th Century, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, c 1800 to c 1900, Colonialism & imperialism, British & Irish history, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Social issues & processes, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / General, Early 20th century c 1900 to c 1950, Middle Eastern history, Colonialism and imperialism, Iraq, Indian Ocean, Sex and sexuality, social aspects, Sexual Behaviour, c 1890 to c 1899, c 1880 to c 1889, Persian Gulf