Retro India is in essence a trip down the memory lane, meandering through the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties of the twentieth century. Today’s youth would battle with the fact that India had experienced a sweeping change from what it was in just as recently as thirty years ago. What kind of a moribund economy could engender a continuing state of shortages, high inflation, low growth, a paucity of jobs, rampant smuggling, and a foreign exchange situation that was perpetually perilous! It took major political and economical transformations to remove the shackles that then bound the economy. This narrative provides a clear bridge between the then and now for the younger generations. And for the older reader, it provides a heap of nostalgia.

This two-volume reset edition draws together a selection of Anglo-Indian poetry from the Romantic era and the nineteenth century.

This two-volume reset edition draws together a selection of Anglo-Indian poetry from the Romantic era and the nineteenth century.

Winner of the International Literacy Association Social Justice Literature Award An award-winning middle-grade novel about the power of grassroots activism and how kids can make a difference. Every day, nine-year-old Yasmin borrows a book from Book Uncle, a retired teacher who has set up a free lending library on the street corner. But when the mayor tries to shut down the rickety bookstand, Yasmin has to take her nose out of her book and do something. What can she do? The local elections are coming up, but she’s just a kid. She can’t even vote! Still, Yasmin has friends — her best friend, Reeni, and Anil, who even has a blue belt in karate. And she has family and neighbors. What’s more, she has an idea that came right out of the last book she borrowed from Book Uncle. So Yasmin and her friends get to work. Ideas grow like cracks in the sidewalk, and soon the whole effort is breezing along nicely... Or is it spinning right out of control? An energetic, funny and quirky story about community activism, friendship, and the love of books. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

The volume brings together ten of the top De Quincey scholars in the world, and engages directly with the immense amount of new information to be published on De Quincey in the past two decades.