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Great history by a talented young historian. A fine achievement by a huge new talent' William Dalrymple, Sunday Times In 1857 the native troops of the Bengal army rose against their colonial masters. The ensuing insurrection was to become the bloodiest in the history of the British Empire.Combining formidable storytelling with ground-breaking research, Saul David narrates a tale at once heart-rendingly tragic and extraordinarily compelling. David provides new and convincing evidence that the true causes of the mutiny were much more complex, and disturbing, than previously assumed.

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9780141005546

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If the American war of independence was the sole example of a British colony successfully revolting against the mother country, the Indian mutiny fascinates as (from the colonial point of view) the next best thing: an example of a revolt which almost succeeded, which taught the British that subjugation of a whole nation was not something to be taken for granted, and which set in train the inevitable sweep of events which led in the end to Indian independence. In a long and deeply researched book, Saul David begins at the beginning - with the suspicion of Indian troops that their cartridges (the ends of which they had to bite off before use) were greased with beef and pork tallow, and therefore bitterly offended their religious feelings. The story has many glosses, all of which the author explores (including the allegation that quite apart from this, the bones of pigs and cows were ground into flour used to make bread for the troops, and the strange story of a sudden proliferation of chapatties - possibly one of the signals of revolt). But his main effort is in creating a detailed chronological account of the mutiny from its outbreak at Meerut (when troops rescued their colleagues, arrested for refusing to use the suspect cartridges) to the massacre at Cawnpore and the siege of the Lucknow residency. The material at David's command is so rich as to be overpowering; he starts with accounts of the bored complacence which made it almost impossible for the British to believe that anything could disturb the peace of their rule, then during the revolt itself describes events of the utmost brutality and the utmost bravery, both qualities displayed by Indians and British alike. The narrative moves briskly, almost with the speed and interest of the original incidents. This will certainly be for the foreseeable future the most reliable account of this remarkable piece of British and Indian history. (Kirkus UK)

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Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed books, including The Indian Mutiny- 1857, Zulu and, most recently, Victoria's Wars- The Rise of Empire. He recently presented 'Bullets, Boots and Bandages' for BBC 4 and is a regular contributor to Radio 4.

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