A Companion to the Indian Mutiny of 1857 (Companions) - Tapa dura

The year 1857 is among the most memorable dates in modern Indian history. That year, the British East Indian Company's rule over large parts of the country was seriously contested by a series of uprisings which many historians see as the first stirrings of Indian nationalism. But this, together with almost everything else about the momentous events that began that year, is the subject of much dispute. In order to give general readers and historians the chance to determine the precise nature of what is commonly called the `Indian Mutiny', this Companion sets out all that is known about every event, incident, battle, character, leader, anecdote, and rumour that is pertinent to 1857. The Companion's 1,500 main entries include 200 anecdotes (which provide a human dimension to this catalogue of warfare, violence, and resistance), together with detailed biographical entries on the chief protagonists, both Indian and English. Nearly 225 sites from Calcutta to Peshawar and from Naini Tal to Ahmedabad are examined, and the story of battles, campaigns, and individual military units is the subject of more than 70 entries. The book also includes a comprehensive Bibliography, a Glossary (which gives special attention to words in use in the 1850s), and a chronologically arranged Summary of Events. Enlivened by nearly 250 black and white illustrations and 24 pages in full colour, this book is, without doubt, the ideal and indispensable reference on the subject.

The General Editor, P. J. O. Taylor is well known in India for his weekly articles in The Statesman. He served in India, Italy, and Japan as an officer of the Indian Army, before becoming a colonial official, a schoolmaster, and an education adviser. The Indian Mutiny' has been his lifelong interest.