Sea of Poppies

novel by Ghosh

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July 20, 2026

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Sea of Poppies is a novel by Amitav Ghosh, published in 2008. It is the first book in his Ibis trilogy, which is set before and during the first Opium War. The story follows individuals aboard the ship Ibis as it carries indentured laborers and opium across the seas of Southeast Asia. The novel marks a shift in Ghosh's writing style, moving towards a more traditional narrative approach compared to his earlier works. The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is an annual plant cultivated for its opium, edible seeds, or ornamental flowers.1

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Amitav Ghosh
With Sea of Poppies (2009)—a novel that describes individuals on the Ibis, a ship on the seas of Southeast Asia carrying indentured laborers and opium—Ghosh turned away from his earlier novels’ formal experimentation and toward a more traditional form of storytelling. Sea of Poppies is the…
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With Sea of Poppies (2009)—a novel that describes individuals on the Ibis, a ship on the seas of Southeast Asia carrying indentured laborers and opium—Ghosh turned away from his earlier novels’ formal experimentation and toward a more traditional form of storytelling. Sea of Poppies is the…
Read More