Through the massively ambitious Ibis trilogy, Amitav Ghosh has permanently changed and reshaped the way histories are seen and fictionalised: The Business Standard
It seems just the other day that a ship called the Ibis, like “a great bird, with sails like wings and a long beak”, set sail with a company man, a coolie woman escaped from suttee and the opium trade, a zamindar turned prisoner, merchants, babus and other colourful cargo on board.
Over a decade has gone by since Amitav Ghosh first began his Ibis trilogy, and in that time, Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke and this final volume, Flood of Fire, have attracted thousands of fans across the world, and upended the usual view of the Opium Wars, Empire and the opium trade.
