{"product_id":"follow-the-drum-9781916556157","title":"Follow the Drum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003eFollow the Drum is a story of men and women caught in a cataclysm of mutiny, hatred, fear, and passion in India in the mid-nineteenth century. The British East India Trading Company maintained an Indian native army with British officers, but great changes were already casting dark shadows across the land. When a stupid order was given to use cartridges greased with cow fat and pig lard, there was mutiny. The British senior officers, many of them drink-sodden and long past retiring age, did not realise the magnitude of the opposition to them and responded by having sepoys fired from guns and disbanding whole regiments. In the terrible days of the burning summer of 1857, the British fought back for bare survival, with unconventional men like Hodson and Nicholson bringing daring new conceptions and mobility to waging war. The lives of millions were changed forever, including the Indian ruler, Nana Sahib, Arabella MacDonald, the old King of Delhi, and Richard Lang. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e: 394 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication date\u003c\/strong\u003e: 25 August 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: Chiselbury Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Drum is a story of men and women caught in a cataclysm of mutiny, hatred, fear, and passion. India, in the mid-nineteenth century, was virtually ruled by a British commercial concern, the Honourable East India Trading Company, whose directors would pay tribute to one Indian ruler and depose another in their efforts to maintain their balance sheet of power and profit. To back up their decisions, they maintained an Indian native army with British officers, helped, when needed, by British regular troops. But great changes were already casting dark shadows across the land. The electric telegraph, the steamship, and the railway were shrinking distances, while missionaries were preaching new gospels. Indian soldiers feared that their ancient traditions were being eroded, and when a stupid order was given to use cartridges greased with cow fat and pig lard (one animal sacred to Hindus and the other abhorrent to Moslems), there was mutiny. Even then, the British senior officers, many of them drink-sodden and long past retiring age, did not realise the magnitude of the opposition to them. They responded by having sepoys fired from guns and disbanding whole regiments, which, instead of calming tempers, merely accelerated the eruption of the Indian Mutiny. In the terrible days of the burning summer of 1857, the British, outnumbered in some garrisons by ten to one, in others by a thousand to one, fought back for bare survival. Conventional leaders were thus frequently displaced by unconventional men, such as Hodson and Nicholson, who brought daring new conceptions and mobility to waging war. The lives of millions were changed for ever; among them, the Indian ruler, Nana Sahib, who bore a grudge against the British; Arabella MacDonald, the courageous and hot-blooded daughter of an English r.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 203 x 133 (mm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9781916556157\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"James Leasor","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":46004576649466,"sku":"9781916556157","price":7.13,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/files\/1715973213785_book.jpg?v=1716037803","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/follow-the-drum-9781916556157","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}