The Interface of Historiography and Historical Fiction in Amitav Ghosh’s, Sea of Poppies

Abstract

This research primarily focuses on presentation of history of colonial exploitation and opium trade with the help of fictional form in one of the books of Amitav Ghosh‟s “Ibis” trilogy i.e. Sea of Poppies. The plot of the novel is structured in such a coherent way that it aligns the events and the circumstances which natives and subalterns faced when the British arrived in India, making the novel a magnificent piece of historical fiction. Then there is a variety of characters, each unique in its own way and struggling to make its place in colonial rule in India and trying to find an identity away from home. Each character is significant and holds a historical importance in itself. The events and descriptions of the novel are historically symbolic. Even the places and geography takes readers to all the locations which have witnessed horrors of the tortures and torments of colonial legacy. Ghosh through abstractions, minute details, people and various situations, takes readers back to the beginning of nineteenth century, an important era which constructed a nation and suppressed another one. This research presents all the evidences from the text to prove it as a historical novel and its significance as compared to historical writings.