Synopses & Reviews
In this evocative study of the fall of the Mughal Empire and the beginning of the Raj, award-winning historian William Dalrymple uses previously undiscovered sources to investigate a pivotal moment in history.
The last Mughal emperor, Zafar, came to the throne when the political power of the Mughals was already in steep decline. Nonetheless, Zafar a mystic, poet, and calligrapher of great accomplishment created a court of unparalleled brilliance, and gave rise to perhaps the greatest literary renaissance in modern Indian history. All the while, the British were progressively taking over the Emperor's power. When, in May 1857, Zafar was declared the leader of an uprising against the British, he was powerless to resist though he strongly suspected that the action was doomed. Four months later, the British took Delhi, the capital, with catastrophic results. With an unsurpassed understanding of British and Indian history, Dalrymple crafts a provocative, revelatory account of one the bloodiest upheavals in history.
Review
"Deeply researched and beautifully written....A poignant account of the events of 1857 in Delhi." The Nation
Review
"A compulsively readable masterpiece....Every chapter of The Last Mughal has historical echoes that are still desperately relevant today." The New York Review of Books
Review
"Brilliant....A magnificent, multi-dimensional work which shames the simplistic efforts of previous writers....With both empathy and sympathy the author portrays the last years of a decadent empire." David Gilmour, The Spectator
Review
"Dalrymple argues convincingly for the contribution of colonialism to the rise of religious radicalism in India. A skilfully written, impeccably researched history." The Observer
Synopsis
Award-winning historian Dalrymple presents a brilliantly researched, evocatively written study of the fall of the Raj and the beginning of the British occupation of India.
About the Author
William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. When he was twenty-two he wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller
In Xanadu, which was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize. In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book,
City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the
Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award.
He is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now divide their time between London and Delhi.