India 1857-8

In terms of the English-language press, the rebellion in India in 1857-8, which brought together Sepoys and key figures in the traditional native ruling class, has not been a popular subject. It doesn't have much appeal to Americans, who think of different kinds of Indians, and the British tended to ignore it, possibly out of some kind of collective guilt. William Darymple's recent book has been doing well in Britain, possibly because it has accessed the Indian archives, and given a more rounded picture than British readers are used to. However, it was not always so, as this interesting essay explains.