The Great Mutiny: India 1857

by Christopher Hibbert

Book Overview

'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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140047522
• ISBN13: 9780140047523
• Release Date: August 1980
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 504 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

A Non-politically correct history - FINALLY

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.

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. It sounded interesting, so I decided to pick up a book on the subject. The Great Mutiny: India 1857 is a must read on this topic. It is told mostly through first hand accounts of the participants of this tragic event. Hibbert's research is thorough, and his story telling is first rate. He does not judge, he tells a story. Never does the story lag, and his descriptive powers give you a good feel for the time and place. I must say that this story is told mostly from the british perspective and many of the accounts reflect the british prejudices of the day. The only criticism I have is Hibbert could have explained the hindu and muslim religions a little more in-depth as they were a major cause of the mutiny. I could not put this book down. This book is so well written I had to get Hibbert's Book; Wellington: A personal history

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. It grabbed me from the first sentence and chapter and continued in the same vein until the last chapter and sentence. Other reviewers have given their descriptions of the book, both pros and cons; all I wish to add is that for a tremendous read, with a great sense of history, drama and insight, this book cannot be beaten, although a good companion to this book is MacDonald Fraser's " Flashman in the Great Game ".

Atmospheric and fascinating account.

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.

An excellent book with vivid details from the British view

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.