Sathnam Sanghera: Empireworld

2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire’s influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries, to nearly a third of drivers driving on the left side of the road, to the origins of international law.

Yet Britain’s idea of its imperial history and the world’s experience of it are two very different things.

With an inimitable combination of wit, political insight and personal honesty, the award-winning author and journalist explores the international legacies of British empire – from the creation of tea plantations across the globe, to environmental destruction, conservation and the imperial connotations of Royal tours.

His journey takes him from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond. In doing so, Sanghera demonstrates just how deeply British imperialism is baked into our world – and why it’s time Britain was finally honest with itself about empire.

Sathnam Sanghera is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Empireland: How Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past, memoir The Boy With The Topknot, and novel Marriage Material.

Colin Grant’s books include Bageye at the Wheel, shortlisted for the Pen Ackerley Prize, and Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. His latest book is I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be. Grant is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and director of WritersMosaic, an online magazine and division of the Royal Literary Fund.