Customer Reviews

The Maharajah's Box: An Imperial Story of Conspiracy, Love, and a Guru's Prophecy

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"The Maharajah's Box" reads as well as any splendid mystery written by the likes of Agatha Christie or P. D. James. But best of all, it is a gripping account of a forgotten plot in 19th Century British history, which had widespread reprecussions for Great Britain's relations with both France and Russia. Campbell does an admirable job recounting the sordid tale of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last king of Lahore, in what is now Pakistan and northwestern India, and his feeble, almost comical, attempts at regaining his throne. Along the way we meet an intriguing, often bizarre, cast of Indian spies, Russian politicans and soldiers and Irish revolutionaries. If you're interested in a true story of political intrigue, this is one tome which shouldn't be missed!

Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh of the Sikh Empire in Northern India (Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, etc.) - which the British conquered in the 1840s after the Maharaja's death. With the defeat of the Sikhs the British conquest of India was complete. The British being British, everything had to be done in the "proper" way. This meant installing the young, under-age prince on the throne in Lahore and then having him and other Sikh Chiefs officially surrender the empire to the British. The prince was then taken to England.

This book tells the story of this young prince's (the last emperor) life story in England until his death. There is a lot of detail here - stuff that most people familiar with Punjab's history, like me, never knew. It is true that the book moves slowly at times. So if you're interested in the story at a dramatic level, and there is certainly that aspect to it if that's your cup of tea, you may find it rather long - as another reviewer commented. But if you're truly interested in this chapter of India's history, then you will find the book very interesting.

I found the book most useful at another level. Maharaja Duleep Singh represented for the Sikhs of Punjab a longing for the lost glory days. Many in Punjab kept believing that one day perhaps the Sikh Raj will come back. This story shows what a lost cause that was. The Maharaja, as he makes a claim for his lost empire later in life, has no chance in hell of succeeding as he is nothing but a bit player in the "great game" being played between England, France, Germany and Russia.

Recommended for those interested in the history of India, Punjab and the Sikhs.

It is amazing to see that so many sikhs take such pride about Duleep Singh where in reality what comes up from the book is that he was a fallen and a weak man consumed in alcohol and sex and who could not be trusted. If Ada was a spy who used her sexual power to reduce him to a fakir then what he deserves is nothing more than what he got at the end.

This book describes a forgotten tale of an Indian Maharaja removed from his throne by the British, and his futile attempts to return to India.

The book is extremely long. It details every letter and every telegram the author was able to place his hands on. It might be interesting if you have some family connections to the Maharaja, but otherwise, it is just tiring.

A newspaper article would have summarized the whole affair in enough detail. The book is too detailed to be interesting.