About the Book
Hear Our Voices explores the history of the British Empire by telling the stories of twenty real people who lived through it. The Empire, which at one time ruled over almost a quarter of the world’s population, affected both the lives of these individuals and the course of global history.
In a collection of first-person narratives and compelling illustrations, this book helps young readers understand the effects of colonialism on the day-to-day lives of historical figures who challenged, promoted, and influenced the Empire.
Hear Our Voices provides a vital and accessible introduction to large concepts like imperialism, power, and resistance: it’s a tool to help students understand the ways that the legacy of Empire lives on to the present day.
Associated Media
Praise for Hear Our Voices
What Scholars Are Saying
“Beautifully written and illustrated, this is a wonderfully moving account of how people’s lives around the world were shaped by an Empire that they refused to let rule them. It is an inspirational story of the men and women who took on a powerful empire and ultimately helped make the world a better place without it.”
— James Vernon, PhD, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History, UC Berkeley, Author of Hunger: A Modern History and Cambridge History of Britain, Modern Britain, 1750 to the Present
"This richly engaging and hugely informative book for younger readers tells the story of the British Empire through twenty extraordinary lives of resistance and opposition. Traversing five continents and three centuries, Hear Our Voices uses the immediacy of individual experience to build bridges across time and place. An important achievement and a gripping read!"
— Claire Langhamer, PhD, Director of the Institute of Historical Research
“It's a rare thing indeed, in writing aimed at any age group, to see an idea so well conceived deliver so fully on its promise. With an eye for captivating biographical detail and a flair for the wide-canvas view, all set against incredible illustration, Natarajan, Tayiana, and Mostov have given us all a real gift: a complex story told in ways that will educate, inspire, and fascinate. Bound to find its way into schools, homes, and libraries, Hear Our Voices is already beloved by my own kids. As it will be by the children in your life!”
— John Munro, PhD, Lecturer in United States History, University of Birmingham, Author of The Anticolonial Front: The African American Freedom Movement and Global Decolonization, 1945–1960
What Readers Are Saying
“Hear Our Voices: A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire through 20 True Stories is a completely necessary book and one of the best biography collections I've read in awhile. This middle grade nonfiction book tackles what empires are, what the British Empire was specifically, how far it reached, and the damage it's done.”
“With gorgeous illustrations and compelling text, this book brings history to life from the perspective of 20 fascinating figures who experienced and responded to the British empire in different ways. Stories of activism will inspire young readers to see that positive change is possible and that one person can make a difference. Perfect for home, library, and school!”
“I had never read a book like this before. “Hear Our Voices” is educational for both adults and children. The amount of research that went into writing this book is evident through every single story that is shared. The voices of these people are heard loud and clear, thanks to Radhika Natarajan and Chao Tayiana, we now can understand how the world came to be the way it is.”
“Overall it was an excellent and fascinating and sobering read, that really made us both appreciate things that had been a bit abstract before about the truth of empire and the way it impacts the world today. I wish I had had it and books like it when I was growing up. I might have developed more of an interest in history. (Kiddo has branched out and is now devouring everything he can get his hands on about the American Revolution, which follows nicely from this book.)”
