Honorable Company: A Novel of India Before the Raj

by Allan Mallinson

Book Overview

Another riveting Matthew Hervey adventure from the Sunday Times bestselling author Allan Mallinson, combining hero, history and drama to perfection. If you like Patrick O'Brian and Sharpe, you'll love... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553111345
• ISBN13: 9780553111347
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 299 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

More than just an adventure story

This is not just a swashbuckling yarn. Several reviewers have compared books from this series to Cornwell's Sharpe books (which draw on a similar time period) but Matthew Hervey is a far more complex character than Sharpe and I think that the comparison with the Aubrey/Maturin books is more appropriate. A story of a young and rather introspective man sent far out of his depth with inadequate information and little support into a most exotic setting and yet winning through by an intriguing combination of ability, integrity and humanity. The scenes are beautifully drawn and the plot is complex. Read it when you have time to sit back and enjoy!

Great Series

This was published under two names. I enjoyed this as much as his other books in this series. Exciting read.

An Ejoyable Read

When last encountered, Matthew Hervey had just survived the Battle of Waterloo with distinction. He had come to the notice of Wellington and, as a reward for his services, had been appointed to Wellington's staff. Now the was is over and he is in France, expecting marriage and service with the duke. Instead, he gets sent to India on a secret mission on behalf of the Duke. It is a mission of political intrigue for which he has not training. Worse, he is not even given all of the information that he needs; that information will be provided by a local contact. Wellington believes that the support of Hyderabad will be essential for British interests in India and Hervey is sent to maintain those relations. Instead, he finds himself in the service of a rival potentate. This is most difficult for a fundamentally honest type like him. The "daughters" of the title do not refer to people. Instead they refer to the Nizam of Hyderabad's huge artillery pieces, the source of much of his power. These are troublesome young ladies especially when allied with the flesh and blood sons of the Nizam. Hervey is just barely a captain. He finds himself taking on the job of a general in a foreign land. By honor, he must protect the Rajah of Chintal. By orders, he must further the interests of Hyderabad. By inclination, he would rather be back with his regiment in Europe. It is a light and enjoyable read.

Hervey in India

I found this book a bit less interesting than the first in the series. Perhaps the pace was a lot slower. Hervey is now off to India where he finds much adventure, an a lot of Byzantine politics. The political world of India in the early 19th century is well portrayed. One can see where the Empire played such a vital role in protecting the country from brigends. The story developes slowly in this volume, as Malinson writes more in the style of Patrick O'Brien. Here we get lots of tips on how to maintain cavalry horses and the like. Perhaps a bit tedious at times, but character building nonetheless. The action is smaller scaled here, no more big slug-fests like Waterloo. In India Hervey finds the seductiveness of the landscape intoxicating at times. He learns to think on his feet and becomes adept at masterering the "petit guerre" of warfare in the East. This series shows promise, even if Hervey is no Sharpe, and Malinson no Cornwell.

Humor and ingenuity fill out a dashing hero

Until discovering Patrick O'Brian, my interest in military historicals was nil. O'Brian's approach - Jane Austen for men - kindled such enjoyment that I've been on the lookout for like-minded writers ever since. Now Allan Mallinson is no Patrick O'Brian. He's not as subtle or graceful a writer, his humor is less wry, his characters less nuanced.But young cavalry officer Mathew Hervey is a hero to root for; principled, dashing and amazingly resourceful. The military details feel authentic and the Indian setting of Hervey's second adventure steams with heat and intrigue.Promoted to captain after the Battle of Waterloo ("A Close Run Thing") and named the Duke of Wellington's new aide-de-camp, Hervey is abruptly dispatched to India, a shining opportunity, save for two problems. The first is the ungraceful postponement of his wedding to his childhood sweetheart, Henrietta. The second is the clandestine, rather unsavory quality of his mission.Subterfuge is foreign to the forthright soldier and the substance of his mission - squaring the Duke's political aspirations by disposing of some questionable Indian estates in the small independent (fictional) state of Chintal - makes him uncomfortable. Still, an order is an order and not to be questioned.In addition, Hervey's cover is thin and he tends to babble a little when he informs people he is in India researching the use of the lance as a weapon of war. Did he but know it, Hervey is soon over his head among the machinations of the British East India Company and the maneuvering of Indian princes. Actually, considering the opportunities for blunders and treachery Hervey creates by his innocence and staunch British principles, Mallinson is rather easy on him. His curiosity, affability and lack of pretensions win him sympathetic friends and his bravery and ingenuity wins their respect.Mallinson is at his best describing Hervey in action: chasing down a huge boar from a good horse, fighting bandits and mutineers, turning battles against stupendous odds. Having won the goodwill of the rajah of Chintal by saving his elephant from quicksand, Hervey is invited to Court - the very place he needs to be to expunge all records of the Duke's estates.The rajah, besieged by bandits, treasonous subordinates, the British East India Company and the encroachments of the Muslim nizam of a neighboring state, appeals to Hervey for help. Befriending the rajah makes his treacherous mission all the more difficult. Then there's the rajah's beautiful, mistrustful, and powerful daughter. And the veiled plans of ambitious Europeans, as sneaky as the country's multitude of snakes.Much of the political history and tangle is delivered through conversations - old hands expressing opinions or setting young Hervey straight. Readers whose knowledge of the period is sketchy will finish the book with their ignorance pretty much intact. But Mallinson's portrayal of the time - the vastness and variety of the country, the opulence of the rajah's