Through the Sands of Time: A Historical Exploration in The Glass Palace

Abstract

Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace is widely regarded as one of the essential historical novels of the last century. This paper explores the importance of The Glass Palace as a historical novel and why it remains relevant today. The novel allows readers to see imperialism’s devastating effects on individual lives and communities. It captures the cultural and psychological tensions of colonialism in one of the central locations it affected, Burma. Furthermore, The Glass Palace’s significance as a historical novel stem from its detailed portrayal of the social, economic, and political situation of the time. By presenting historical events in an entertaining, engaging way or with fictional characters, Ghosh makes his reader cull information from one of the more enthralling telling of Asian history.