The Indian Mutiny

by Julian Spilsbury

By 1857, the British East India Company was India’s de facto ruler, having won the subcontinent by subterfuge and force of arms. Discontent was rising however, and in the following Spring, entire regiments of Indian troops turned on their British overlords and challenged the global trading powerhouse in open warfare. The brutal struggle that followed would forever break the Company’s hold on India, and send shock waves reverberating across the British Empire. This sweeping, true-life drama combines powerful eyewitness accounts and painstaking historical investigation to present an intimate portrait of the British troops and the Sikhs, Gurkhas, and Afghan who fought alongside them, often against terrible odds. This is living history that reads like the finest action-adventure story!

Genres: History, India, Military Fiction, War, Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spilsbury presents a very thorough retelling of the tragic events of the Indian Mutiny in 1857-58. This is a fact-based account bringing together many eyewitness accounts and, more importantly, the recollections of the participants. Clearly Anglo-centric in its presentation, the history nonetheless presents an even-handed account of the atrocities committed by both sides but thankfully focuses primarily on the heroic acts of regular men and women in a terrifying time. For those interested in the British Empire and especially the military exploits of men like Campbell, Outram, Havelock, and Lawrence, this is a highly-recommended read. Engaging and informative, the best thing I can say about this book is that it pulls the reader into a time when, for better or for worse, the sun never set on the British Empire and those involved in quashing the rebellion fought with courage borne of their own perceived superiority. As embarrassingly jingoistic as this chapter of world history might be from a modern perspective, it remains however an essential stage in the development of the world in which we live today. This book truly puts you there and perhaps that is the greatest accolade we can give any historical account.

[Gemma Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting book. I had heard of the Indian Mutiny, and always thought it was just a couple riots over animal fat soaked rifle cartridges. I never realized England lost control over most of India for almost 3 years. Unfortunately, the author's English bias resulted in alot of the information I would have found most interesting about the whole situation. For example, the cause of the uprising in the first place. Rifle cartridges and the loss of legal advantages in one territory hardly seem to justify a full scale rebellion. And the fact that 17 regiments in North India continued to serve the British indicates that the choice to rebel wasn't entirely straightforward even to the sepoys themselves. And the author seems to assume it's natural that time and again vastly outnumbered English troops would succeed against the same sepoys they used to conquer India in the first place, but never explains to the novice why that would be so. Still, I know alot more about India's First War of Independence now than I did a month ago, and there were a lot of great stories about Characters of the sort you just don't see in the 21st century.

[John B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clever writer. I used this book in preparation for the battlefield tour in India. Highly recommended account.

[Robert LoCicero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at a rather obscure series of bloody events in the subcontinent of India in the mid 1850's. The English empire controlled India through their East India Trading Company which had won out during the competition with other European seafaring nations in the 1700s to control the trade with the diverse fiefdoms that ruled India at that time. Sparked by some religious misunderstandings, whether purposeful or ignorant, among their native infantry troops, a series of rebellions sprung up in various locales in India. These rebellions proved bloody and homicidal for the English residents in these areas. This volume chronicles the story of the rebellion and its bloody termination through a mass English military response. The Indian Mutiny as it is termed, proved to be viewed by many Indians as their First War for Independence with some of their military leaders (including several female ones) seen as martyrs for the cause. This book is dense and replete with lengthy quotes of various participants in the fight. Author Spilsbury is obviously familiar with English military pursuits and gives a clear and concise narrative on the tactics and miliatry assets deployed by London to win this battle. A difficult read unless one is inclined toward some military literature and if so then the book is rather intriguing.

[Charles Berteau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book because I have a 3rd-great-granduncle who served in the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment, including in the relief of Lucknow and the other aspects of this campaign. So I snagged this volume in the book shop at The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum at Stirling Castle, hoping to get some insight on the campaign.

This is a purely military history - blissfully avoiding any social debate - and in that context is comprehensive and detailed. But I don't have much more good to say about it. The organization and layout is odd, making the timeline and strategic structure of the campaign difficult to follow. The writing style is okay, but is pretty dense and certainly not gripping.

And (at least in the paperback version I had) the collection of maps up front is completely unreadable...it's like large-scale line maps were just shrunk to paperback size, and they are literally unreadable without bright-light magnification. It's a shame, because there are a lot of maps. If you are reading the (presumably) larger hardback version, this might go from a weakness to a strength.

I guess it's the best book I've seen on the mutiny, but only because it's also the only book I've seen on the mutiny. That said, overall I found it a chore to get through, and unfortunately I can't recommend it, at least in softcover.

[Medhavini · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book written purely from the English perspective; colonial atrocities are barely mentioned and if they are, excused or glossed over, while the mutineers are painted in a broad brush as badmashes and butchers. Not surprising, given that the book simply knits together accounts of British officers with no place given to the PoV of the natives.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read others like this one and it was reasonably written.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book, and is a worthy introduction to the Mutiny. It is written with a good pace, and can be an easy read.

What I like in the edition that I read, is the inclusion of a few maps. The chronology can be a bit confusing at times, and if you do not know too much about the Mutiny, this can confuse.

While he does cover the possible origins of the Mutiny, this part would probably need more analysis. The aftermath has been dealt with swiftly and well.

As in most other books on the Mutiny, most of the quotations in the book are those of the British, and this tends to portray the British in a sympathetic light. While atrocities were done to them, the tone of the quotes tends to show the Indians in an unflattering light, and this is one-sided.

All in all, a good introduction to the Mutiny.

[Simon Bendle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spilsbury – a former army officer turned TV script writer – does a good job presenting a complicated story in an interesting and readable way. This is a decent book. If you want to know about the Indian rebellion of 1857, you could do a lot worse. But unfortunately for Spilsbury you could also do a lot better: the outstanding Great Mutiny, by Christopher Hibbert.