I adore that we are making history more accessible and memorable through the arts for young minds! There is so much cultural nuance that can be discussed here as well as the historical events. This seems so prevalent in a time that America is on the edge of making voting harder for women in future elections with proposed amendments to the law.

This was a fantastic play script! I had never heard of Princess Singh before. However, I can see why she is a trailblazing woman! I thought the play was short. However, the characters and the story was developed. I like how her story is told in script format! I hope to see this play performed on stage soon!

This is a great way to introduce Princess Sophia Duleep Singh to a new generation. Through stage direction in the script, I could see how this play could be affordably produced for many audiences. Further, I would recommend this play for people who study global women's history, the global suffragette movement, British history and the history of India.

Wow! What an inspiring woman! How have I never heard of her?! This is a brilliant little play and a brilliant little resource. It engages with big topics in a way that perfectly balances substance with engagement, and would be a real treat to have performed in your school. I just with it was about 10 minutes longer - I want the rest of the story! This is a brilliant resource, particularly for primary school students. I work with university students, so sadly not the target, but if I was still working with younger students I would absolutely want to have this performed for them.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC and to the author and publisher for putting this into the world.

I enjoyed this play about Princess Sophia Puleep Singh. I had never heard of her, so I learned a lot. It was interesting to read about such a courageous lady. I like to read about women that influenced the women's movement, so this was perfect for me.
Thank you, Net Galley and Aurora Metro Books!

This was a funny and engaging play, perfect for immersing and entertaining teens in the interesting life of Sophia Duleep Singh. I wasn't familiar this historic figure before, so it was very informative, mainly the first section of the book. The play is funny and engaging with the audience, so it's perfect for performances in high schools, given Sophia's strong beliefs and actions involving the advancement of women and her opposition to the British explotation in India. I think kids and teens would benefit a lot from this play.
Thank you Aurora Metro Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great idea, the book is mainly a play that is offered free for schools (I checked them out online) and it’s done in a fun way that will keep children entertained. Boise and Jindan are the main factors in the play as narrators but it is written to only need 3 actors and the narrators interactions not only mention this but find a way to make it funny with them bickering about who has to be a man or who gets to be the richer one. The one that plays Sophia stays as only Sophie so as to keep a focus on her as a whole rather than remembering the character of that scene and it covers her life quite well in the hour it’s expected to go on. It is also cool that it intends to have audience participation as again it will keep children engaged. The biography type bit at the beginning is great and can be used after the play in classrooms to further explore her life.

Favourite Quote:
“All life is risk. But while you can't be sure you can change things, you can be sure that, if you do nothing, things will stay the same.”

Author Rebecca Morgan brings Princess Sophia Duleep Singh to life in a play she was asked to develop by the Historic Royal Palaces in Britain.

Sophia was born in 1876; she was the granddaughter of Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab in northwest India. Her father Duleep Singh, was raised in England after his mother rebelled against British rule. Duleep married a German woman, and they had seven children together, one of whom was Sophia.

Queen Victoria became godmother to Sophia. After her father left for India to campaign for his lands and money to be returned to him by the British, and her mother died, Sophia and her sisters were eventually installed in Hampton Court. Sophia was an unconventional presence there as she grew up; she played sports and raised dogs.

But the most interesting part of her life was ahead of her. Princess Sophia became an activist for women's rights, as well as a champion of abandoned Indian sailors (known as Lascars) in England by their British bosses, a nurse during WWI, a supporter of Indian freedom fighters, and someone who took in refugees in WWII.

Altogether, a fascinating woman, and the lively play describing her life is delivered with humour even while it educates, and includes dialogue primarily in English, with some dollops of Punjabi and Urdu. I imagine this would be a lot of fun to attend with an audience, as the dialogue is full of energy and wit as it is staged for schoolchildren.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Aurora Metro Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.