The British empire is the biggest thing we ever did as a country. Bigger than winning both World Wars, bigger than winning any number of World Cups in any number of sports, bigger than inventing James Bond, Peppa Pig and Lord of the Rings combined. Yet, we don’t talk about it much. And it’s barely taught in schools.

But how do we even begin to tell this massive story?

In his second children’s book on the British empire, Satham Sanghera tells us all about the empire through the epic and monumental journeys that shaped it. From the rebellious pirate queen who sailed the seas on perilous adventures, to the tragic true story of Pocahontas, and Gandhi’s extraordinary Salt March, this collection of 10 journeys takes readers on a voyage through Britain’s imperial history, and shows how it continues to impact the entire world today.

In his ground-breaking new book, Sathnam Sanghera traces the legacies of British empire around the world.

‘A wonderful book’ Rory Stewart
‘Nuanced and deeply researched’ Financial Times
‘Not just a welcome corrective but a book for our times’ Peter Frankopan
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The British empire was built on slavery, but it also pioneered abolition.
It spread democracy, but it also seeded geopolitical instability.
It devastated nature but it also gave birth to modern notions of environmentalism.
In this urgent sequel to Empireland, award-winning author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain to the wider world.

Travelling across outposts of the former empire from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond, Sanghera puts to bed the conventional balance-sheet view of imperial history where the good is merely weighed up against the bad. In Empireworld, Sanghera instead seeks out nuance to reveal how contradictory forces of the British empire have shaped our world and what they mean for our place within it today.
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‘An absolute masterpiece’ James O’Brien
‘Puts Sanghera in the firmament of great imperial historians’ Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, i
‘Profoundly moving’ Elizabeth Day

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Empireland examined imperialism’s lasting impact on Britain

Empireworld traces the legacies of British empire across the globe.

2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire’s influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, and even shaping 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. —

In Empireworld, award-winning author and journalist, Sathnam Sanghera extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain. Travelling the globe to trace its international legacies – from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond – 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.

‘A wonderful book’ Rory Stewart

‘Nuanced and deeply researched’ Financial Times

‘Not just a welcome corrective but a book for our times’ Peter Frankopan

©2024 Sathnam Sanghera (P)2024 Penguin Audio

You’ve probably heard the word ’empire’ before. Perhaps because of the Roman empire. Or maybe even the Star Wars films.

But what about the British Empire? Why don’t we learn much about this? And what even is an empire, anyway?

This book will answer all the important questions about Britain’s imperial history. It will explore how Britain’s empire once made it the most powerful nation on earth, and how it still affects our lives in many ways today – from the words we use, to the food we eat, the sports we play and even to every grown-up’s fixation with a good cup of tea.

Because how can we ever make the world a kinder, better place for the future, if we don’t know the truth about the past?

“I’ve resisted suggestions that I write a kids’ book on empire on the grounds that I didn’t want to sanitise the history. But I think I’ve found a tone that allows me to be both honest and entertaining. I’m really excited that kids might soon have access to knowledge about the British Empire that I only stumbled across at the age of 45. Becoming at ease with this history is essential to Britain becoming a saner country.” – Sathnam Sanghera

SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEK

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BOY WITH THE TOPKNOT AND EMPIRELAND

‘Enormously enjoyable’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A satirical masterpiece’ TELEGRAPH

‘Sanghera’s tender and funny book is a cracking and pacy read’ OBSERVER

‘A stunning novel . . . touching and funny and feels so fresh . . . it just leaps off the page. I adored it’ DEBORAH MOGGACH

‘Impressive’ GUARDIAN

‘Entertaining’ INDEPENDENT

When Arjan returns to the Black Country after his father’s death, his family’s corner shop represents everything he tried to leave behind. But his mother insists on keeping the business open, and Arjun finds himself being dragged back from London, and forced into big decisions about his own relationship. Yet Arjan’s story isn’t the first and it won’t be the last: Surinder and Kamaljit, two sisters, a generation back in the family, also experienced their own share of betrayals and loyalties, loves and regrets.

Praise for Empireland

‘A fascinating reckoning with a history of empire’ GUARDIAN
‘I only wish this book had been around when I was at school‘ SADIQ KHAN
‘Balanced and insightful‘ THE TIMES
‘This immensely readable book is very timely’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘An important book’ NEW STATESMAN

WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR NARRATIVE NONFICTION

***THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY ‘EMPIRE STATE OF MIND’***
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘The real remedy is education of the kind that Sanghera has embraced – accepting, not ignoring, the past’ Gerard deGroot, The Times
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EMPIRE explains why there are millions of Britons living worldwide.
EMPIRE explains Brexit and the feeling that we are exceptional.
EMPIRE explains our distrust of cleverness.
EMPIRE explains Britain’s particular brand of racism.

Strangely hidden from view, the British Empire remains a subject of both shame and glorification. In his bestselling book, Sathnam Sanghera shows how our imperial past is everywhere: from how we live and think to the foundation of the NHS and even our response to the COVID-19 crisis.

At a time of great division, when we are arguing about what it means to be British, Empireland is a groundbreaking revelation – a much-needed and enlightening portrait of contemporary British society, shining a light on everything that usually gets left unsaid.
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‘Empireland takes a perfectly-judged approach to its contentious but necessary subject’ Jonathan Coe

‘I only wish this book has been around when I was at school’ Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

‘This remarkable book shines the brightest of lights into some of the darkest and most misunderstood corners of our shared history’ James O’Brien

Sathnam Sanghera, Sunday Times bestseller, February 2024

‘This remarkable book shines the brightest of lights into some of the darkest and most misunderstood corners of our shared history’ James O’Brien
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In his brilliantly illuminating new book Sathnam Sanghera demonstrates how so much of what we consider to be modern Britain is actually rooted in our imperial past. In prose that is, at once, both clear-eyed and full of acerbic wit, Sanghera shows how our past is everywhere: from how we live to how we think, from the foundation of the NHS to the nature of our racism, from our distrust of intellectuals in public life to the exceptionalism that imbued the campaign for Brexit and the government’s early response to the Covid crisis. And yet empire is a subject, weirdly hidden from view.

The British Empire ran for centuries and covered vast swathes of the world. It is, as Sanghera reveals, fundamental to understanding Britain. However, even among those who celebrate the empire there seems to be a desire not to look at it too closely – not to include the subject in our school history books, not to emphasize it too much in our favourite museums.

At a time of great division, when we are arguing about what it means to be British, Sanghera’s book urges us to address this bewildering contradiction. For, it is only by stepping back and seeing where we really come from, that we can begin to understand who we are, and what unites us.
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‘Lucid but never simplistic; entertaining but never frivolous; intensely readable while always mindful of nuance and complexity – Empireland takes a perfectly-judged approach to its contentious but necessary subject’ Jonathan Coe

“It’s 1979, I’m three years old, and like all breakfast times during my youth it begins with Mum combing my hair, a ritual for which I have to sit down on the second-hand, floral-patterned settee, and lean forward, like I’m presenting myself for execution.“

For Sathnam Sanghera, growing up in Wolverhampton in the eighties was a confusing business. On the one hand, these were the heady days of George Michael mix-tapes, Dallas on TV and, if he was lucky, the occasional Bounty Bar. On the other, there was his wardrobe of tartan smocks, his 30p-an-hour job at the local sewing factory and the ongoing challenge of how to tie the perfect top-knot.

And then there was his family, whose strange and often difficult behaviour he took for granted until, at the age of twenty-four, Sathnam made a discovery that changed everything he ever thought he knew about them. Equipped with breathtaking courage and a glorious sense of humour, he embarks on a journey into their extraordinary past – from his father’s harsh life in rural Punjab to the steps of the Wolverhampton Tourist Office – trying to make sense of a life lived among secrets.

‘I absolutely loved it. Heartbreaking and wonderful. He writes beautifully’ Maggie O’Farrell

‘Tragic, funny and disturbing. It will challenge you, and may even change you‘ Carole Angier, Independent

Published in hardback as If You Don’t Know Me by Now