Caroline Allana Scott The Assam Diaries

A book that will appeal to readers of biographies and memoirs - and those interested in social history. It explores the complexities of life on an Indian tea plantation from the perspective of a Scottish doctor during the 1950s. This is the story of the author's father, Dr Allan Scott MBChB DTM&H DObst RCOG, who spent seven years in Assam, with his wife (the author's mother), caring for the workforces on a number of different tea gardens. He also carried out research into different methods of malaria control, documenting his findings in published papers, and commenting on them in a series of letters he wrote to his parents. The letters are invaluable, not only from a medical perspective, but from a geographic, economic and social one. Following Dr Scott's death (2004), the author was given these letters. She read them to her mother, who made some very interesting comments, and produced a photograph album, compiled during their time in India. It soon became apparent that not only do the letters give an accurate account of a bygone era, the photographs, together with additional observations, now provide an excellent resource to restore a forgotten part of history.