'By far the best single-volume description of the mutiny yet written' - "Economist". A beautifully written and meticulously researched narrative history of the great Indian uprising of 1857 by one of our most acclaimed living historians. First published in 1978 and re-issued with a handsome new cover for the 2002 paperback edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
12 1.5-hour cassettes
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Christopher Hibbert is, in the words of the TES, 'perhaps the most gifted popular historian we have'. His books include THE DESTRUCTION OF LORD RAGLAN (which won the Heinemann Award for Literature in 1962); LONDON: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A CITY and THE VIRGIN QUEEN: THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF ELIZABETH I and THE MARLBOROUGHS (Viking 2001). Christopher Hibbert is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is married with two sons and a daughter and lives in Henley-on-Thames.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A British-centered but fair account of the war that brought down the British East India Company.
Hibberts opens with a set-piece describing the opulent lifestyle of a 19th-century British official in Delhi named Thomas Metcalfe - three-story brick house with classical colonnade, brass band, tables with their legs set in water to keep off the red ants, a 10 to 2 work-day -- and goes on from there to describe the unhappiness of the Bengal Army and the explosion in the Meerut garrison; the capture of Delhi by the Meerut sepoys, the troubled reaction of the 82-year-old King, and the ensuing British siege; memorable events in Lucknow, Kanpur and Jhansi, etc; and the eventual British victory. Beautifully sourced from contemporary diaries, letters, and testimony to various boards of inquiry; sympathetic to and critical of both sides at various times.
One can quibble - more Indian sources would be appreciated, and it would be interesting to learn the reason the Bengal Army revolted while the armies of Madras and Bombay did not - but we should not complain that Hibberts did not write a different book.
This seems to me precisely what the previous reviewer has done in berating Hibberts for not writing a denunciation of British rule in India. Adding to this the respectively goofy and outrageous accusations that the British introduced bribery to India, and that their government can be compared with that of the Nazis in occupied Europe, simply makes him look hysterical.
The fact is, India has been independent for fifty years, & the EIC was abolished a century before that. The fight is long over & surely we can do our best to describe events as they happened, and judge people, both British and Indians, based on the times in which they lived. I believe Hibberts tries to do so.
19 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By Deos Volt
Format:Paperback
Mr. Hibbert's book, although short on the factors of the the causes of the Mutiny, gives a good view from the British point of view. He is hampered by the fact that most of the Indian view was written AFTER 1948 and the lack of contempory mutineer accounts.
He correctly points out that the Indian Mutiny was NOT a "national rebellion" against British rule but a mutiny of SOME of the regiments in the Bengal Army (the VAST majority of Indians remained loyal to the British). He also remembers that the majority of the forces used by the British were INDIAN and Sikhs. By cutting through the revisionist clap-trap, Mr, Hibbert shows the reader a refreshingly accurate view of the actions in the Indian Mutiny.
Unfortunatly, his analysis falls short on the overall picture but focuses on individual accounts. He is a bit long-winded on unimportant details and then tries to make them fit into the grand scheme, which sometimes doesn't quite fit. He dwells on the truly barbaric nature of the mutineers toward unarmed civilians, particularly women and children, but glosses over the fact that the vast majority of their victims were their own countrymen (so much for a so-called struggle for freedom!).
But the strength of the book is his unashamed telling of the Indian Mutiny as what it WAS - with all the brutallity and desperation of the rebels against a shocked, angered and, yes, finally brutal European population and military. The reactions of the British to the mutineers are correctly shown IN CONTEXT to the times they took place and might shock those who know (or care) little of the mid 19th century world and their views of "justice" in any nation.
Despite all the highly emotional "rewriters" of history of the subject, particularly in India and America these days, this book is a refreshingly historically correct retelling of a tragic event that COULD have been India's opprotunity at independence but quickly disolved into a violent and savage minority that slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians, the majority of them Indian as well as European, and directly led to the tightening of control over India by now suspitious Britain- suspitious even toward the vastly loyal majority of Indians.
He correctly points out that the Indian Mutiny was NOT a "national rebellion" against British rule but a mutiny of SOME of the regiments in the Bengal Army (the VAST majority of Indians remained loyal to the British). He also remembers that the majority of the forces used by the British were INDIAN and Sikhs. By cutting through the revisionist clap-trap, Mr, Hibbert shows the reader a refreshingly accurate view of the actions in the Indian Mutiny.
Unfortunatly, his analysis falls short on the overall picture but focuses on individual accounts. He is a bit long-winded on unimportant details and then tries to make them fit into the grand scheme, which sometimes doesn't quite fit. He dwells on the truly barbaric nature of the mutineers toward unarmed civilians, particularly women and children, but glosses over the fact that the vast majority of their victims were their own countrymen (so much for a so-called struggle for freedom!).
But the strength of the book is his unashamed telling of the Indian Mutiny as what it WAS - with all the brutallity and desperation of the rebels against a shocked, angered and, yes, finally brutal European population and military. The reactions of the British to the mutineers are correctly shown IN CONTEXT to the times they took place and might shock those who know (or care) little of the mid 19th century world and their views of "justice" in any nation.
Despite all the highly emotional "rewriters" of history of the subject, particularly in India and America these days, this book is a refreshingly historically correct retelling of a tragic event that COULD have been India's opprotunity at independence but quickly disolved into a violent and savage minority that slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians, the majority of them Indian as well as European, and directly led to the tightening of control over India by now suspitious Britain- suspitious even toward the vastly loyal majority of Indians.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed reading this book. The book covers in great detail the underlying causes for the mutiny. Describes the British battle strategies, their general thinking process. Shows how disjointed and disunited the Indian soldiers were at that time (with poor communications and lack of a broad strategy).
This is my first book on the Indian Mutiny. It was excellent history lesson for me. The book braodly covers all the mutiny episodes.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
a human history of an historical event
If you are looking for a history of India 1857 and the sepoy mutiny then this is a wonderful resource. Read more
Published on November 2, 2009 by J. Carter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good analysis of the "First Freedom Struggle"
Mr. Hibbert has rendered an excellent analysis of the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857. Of course from the perspective of the natives this was a Freedom Struggle NOT a mutiny. Read more
Published on September 27, 2004 by Kersi Von Zerububbel
1.0 out of 5 stars
History written with british point of view
This is a very biased book.It tries to depict Indians as treacherous and savages. Writer has never bothered to verify facts from sources other than British. Read more
Published on November 27, 2002 by Jitendra Singh
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time
The book is a collection of haphazrd details none of them of any significance. The style of the narrative: to start with an everyday event and roll it into something significant,... Read more
Published on May 25, 2002 by WhoWasJohnG
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well researched account of a violent time in human history!
Until recently I had never heard of the Great Mutiny, till surfing the web one night I came across a reference to it. Read more
Published on April 4, 2002 by "mattp2"
3.0 out of 5 stars
The British View of the Mutiny
Hibbert's book is an attempt to take contemporary accounts - gathered from diaries, letters, military dispatches, and other sources - and craft a picture of the Mutiny from the... Read more
Published on December 29, 2001
4.0 out of 5 stars
First Hand Accounts of the Sepoy Revolt
This book is not so much a political view of the sepoy revolt rather it is a series of first hand accounts which bring every engagment to life. Read more
Published on January 10, 2001 by James Tocci
3.0 out of 5 stars
To The victor go the spoils
The writer should have made an effort to present the story from both sides, however it is a thoroughly enjoyable book
Published on December 14, 2000 by "rahul422213"
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as Good as expected
Since I have enjoyed other Hibbert books (e.g., his two volumes on George IV)I thought this would be the book to read on the Sepoy Mutiny. I was disappointed. Read more
Published on October 21, 2000 by Schmerguls
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the best Hibbert book I have read
This was the first Christopher Hibbert book I read and after a total of 14 other Hibbert books, it is still the best. Read more
Published on September 22, 2000 by craig mchaffie
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