Britain India

Full of illuminating anecdotes drawn from memoirs, correspondence, and government documents, The British in India weaves a rich tapestry of the everyday experiences of the Britons who found themselves in “the jewel in the crown” of the British Empire. David Gilmour captures the substance and texture of their work, home, and social lives, and illustrates how these transformed across the several centuries of British presence and rule in the subcontinent, from the East India Company’s first trading station in 1615 to the twilight of the Raj and Partition and Independence in 1947.

From an acclaimed historian, a sweeping study of the past, present, and future of the Great Powers, revealing the new rules of global leadership. From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the...

At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the British Empire withdrew from India, igniting the exhilaration and turmoil of a newly free society. In this vivid, atmospheric popular history, Alex von Tunzelmann chronicles these times through the most prominent figures.

From the author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley, The Midnight Rose spans four generations and sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England, following the extraordinary life of a girl, Anahita Chavan, from 1911 to the...

Edmund Burke was one of the most powerful political minds of the Georgian age. He did not rule as a king, command armies, or dominate government as a prime minister. His power was different. Burke shaped the moral language in which power itself was judged. He warned Britain over America, accused empire in India, defended Catholic relief, attacked corruption, broke with old friends over the French Revolution, and became one of the founding voices of modern conservative thought. Born in Ireland and formed in the literary world of London, Burke entered politics through the Rockingham Whigs and...

The English East India Company was the mother of the modern multinational. Its trading empire encircled the globe, importing Asian luxuries such as spices, textiles, and teas. But it also conquered much of India with its private army and broke open China's markets with opium. The Company's practices shocked its contemporaries and still reverberate today.

From the ashes of Viking invasions to the sun setting on the world’s largest empire, this is the untold story of Britain’s rise and fall. What you’re about to discover will change how you see one of history’s most powerful forces. The British Empire did not simply happen — it was built, fought for, contested, and ultimately undone by the same forces that created it. Spanning from Alfred the Great’s desperate stand against the Vikings to the transformation into today’s Commonwealth, this book takes you inside the struggles, triumphs, and tragedies that shaped centuries of ...

This book is not intended as an accurate daily account of the war. It is intended as an accurate transcript of the comments N.D.Varadachariar (Kasi) made in his diaries during the course of the war, based on newspaper and radio reports. Where possible, an attempt has been made to provide context (in italics) to references to people, places and events made in the diary. The diaries are replete with insight and commentary that provide a unique window into this defining period of civilisation, made all the more interesting by spellings, turns of phrase, and indeed, opinions, that one might ...

Bloomsbury presents A War of Empires by Robert Lyman, read by Roger May. SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUSI DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2022 'This is a superb book.' – James Holland In 1941 and 1942 the British and Indian Armies were brutally defeated and Japan reigned supreme in its...

Stories from the past still ring today, reminding us of the courage and hardships of our ancestors. A riveting narrative, "The Sikh Wars," explores this event, which is an obscure yet formative period in my own family's history. For young Sikhs and history buffs alike, this book is more than a simple account of previous events; it is an earnest invitation to delve into and comprehend the richness of their heritage and the complexity of their past. The story's driving force is the turbulent and innovative era of the British Empire, during which the British mastered the age-old art of ...

Long, long ago in the deserts of Egypt, emerged a new Islamic sect that experienced a mortal threat from mainstream Islam right since inception. The sect invented the art of assassination as a defence strategy, participated in the crusades, and eventually entered India as an ally of the British...

A new biography of Winston Churchill, revealing how his relationships with the other great figures of his age shaped his own triumphs and failures as a leader Winston Churchill remains one of the most revered figures of the twentieth century, his name a byword for courageous leadership. But the...

A young Indian man is tapped to help his country’s fight for freedom—but his heart engages him in a different war. “Grand, sweeping, mesmerizing . . . a richly detailed, politically profound story of love, of migration, of individuals caught up in the great convulsions of history...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi comes an epic and daring novel that imagines an alternate version of 1960s India that was never liberated from the British, and a young woman’s struggle to change the tides of history. “This is the kind of fiction we need more of.”—R...

Founded at the dawn of the 17th century as European nations were establishing global empires, the English East India Company would become a vital part of burgeoning British supremacy. Begun as a joint-stock company for trade with the East Indies, this organization would evolve into one of the world's first capitalistic corporations.

In 1943 Winston Churchill and the British Empire needed millions of Indian troops, all of India's industrial output, and tons of Indian grain to support the Allied war effort. Such massive contributions were certain to trigger famine in India. Because Churchill believed that the fate of the British Empire hung in the balance, he proceeded, sacrificing millions of Indian lives in order to preserve what he held most dear. The result: the Bengal Famine of 1943-44, in which millions of villagers starved to death.

The Empire’s “Jewel in the Crown” For almost two hundred years Britain ran one of the most diverse places on the planet. The British did not show up in India as invaders. They arrived as businessmen. In 1600 the East India Company formed to buy and sell spices textiles and tea. Over many decades that private company built its own army. It defeated local rulers and started taking taxes from millions. What began as simple trade slowly grew into a massive empire. By the middle of the 1800s Britain took direct control. That era became known as the Raj. It was a time that reshaped the ...

An Air Mail Editors’ Pick Ten walks through idyllic scenery reveal rural Britain’s forgotten links to transatlantic slavery and colonialism—a “revelatory travelogue-cum-exposé” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) that will transform our understanding of the English countryside and its...

For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling. When play first began the...

The English East India Company was the mother of the modern multinational. Its trading empire encircled the globe, importing Asian luxuries such as spices, textiles and teas. But it also conquered much of India with its private army and broke open China's markets with opium. The Company’s practices shocked its contemporaries and still reverberate today. This expanded edition explores how the four forces of scale, technology, finance and regulation drove its spectacular rise and fall.