The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 - Tapa blanda

'Dalrymple is an outstandingly gifted travel writer and historian who excels himself in his latest work' Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Vivid ... unmatched ... revolutionary ... humane ... No previous book has delved so deeply into the history of Delhi in those days, nor painted such a vivid portrait of the late Mughal court' Sunday Telegraph 'Brims with life, colour and complexity ... outstanding ... one of the best history books of the year' Evening Standard 'Magnificent ... shames the simplistic efforts of previous writers' Spectator

On a dark evening in November 1862, a cheap coffin is buried in eerie silence. There are no lamentations or panegyrics, for the British Commissioner in charge has insisted, 'No vesting will remain to distinguish where the last of the Great Mughals rests.' This Mughal is Bahadur Shah Zafar II, one of the most tolerant and likeable of his remarkable dynasty who found himself leader of a violent and doomed uprising. The Siege of Delhi was the Raj's Stalingrad, the end of both Mughal power and a remarkable culture.