Historian William Dalrymple’s profile is high at the moment, with an acclaimed book about the East India Company published recently and an exhibition he curated opening this month. We’re delighted that Vayu Naidu has interviewed him for Historia and writes here about Dalrymple’s wide vision, as shown by his writing and his selection of paintings. […]
The Ranas and the Raj
Louise Brown charts the history of the extraordinary Nepalese Rana dynasty and their complicated relationship with the British Raj. Nepal enchants foreigners. I have been captivated by the country since I lived in Kathmandu twenty five years ago, and writing my latest novel, The Himalayan Summer, has taken me back there again. Today, Nepal is […]
The Rebels Who Never Were
It’s often forgotten that the word ‘thug’ once had a very specific meaning — one so thrillingly and gothically nasty, that it was the reason it entered English in the first place. The Thugs were Indian roadside bandits from what is now Madhya Pradesh in central India, who befriended unwary travellers only to turn on […]