author
Sir Herbert Thirkell White
1855–1931
A longtime British administrator in Burma, he later turned his experience into writing that blends memoir, travel, and colonial history. His best-known book, A Civil Servant in Burma, offers a firsthand look at the country as he knew it after more than three decades in public service.
1 Audiobook
A Civil Servant in Burma
by Sir Herbert Thirkell White
About the author
Educated at Dulwich College and Brasenose College, Oxford, he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1877 and went out to Burma in 1878. Over the next 32 years he served in a wide range of posts there, eventually becoming Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Lower Burma and then Lieutenant-Governor of Burma from 1905 to 1910.
After retiring, he wrote about the country where he had spent most of his working life. He is best remembered for A Civil Servant in Burma (1913), a reflective account drawn from his years in administration and observation of Burmese society.
His work remains of interest to readers looking for personal, period accounts of British Burma. While it reflects the outlook of a colonial official, it also preserves detailed impressions of the institutions, landscapes, and daily life he encountered.