White Mughals - Love & Betrayal in 18th Century India

Viking, 2002, hardcover, illustrated, 578 pages, index, condition; as new.

"The combination of romance, wealth and power, the fatal flaws of British and Indian rulers and princes, and two lost children, is just amazing. Dalrymple builds the story on a foundation of wonderfully detailed and erudite research, so that you trust his characterizations and conclusions. The hero of the book, James Achilles Kirkpatrick, was a noble man in all senses of the word, and by becoming one of the mughals transcended the divisions of skin color and culture. As a resident of the British East India Company, he spoke out against the arrogant racism of Governor General Wellesley in the early years of the 19th century that would destroy everything the English needed for their own sakes to keep alive in India. Kirkpatrick's tragedy was dying young on the brink of being able to make a difference in British policy. The tragedy of his young wife continued to her ill-usage at the hands of another Englishman, Resident Henry Russell. The fate of the two Kirkpatrick children is revealed at the end of the book, and the hopefulness of the connection between a granddaughter and far-away grandmother is a lovely ending to the tale. "