‘The Return of a King ‘ by William Dalrymple
Published by Bloomsbury £9.99
If you only read one book make it this one. This ain’t chick lick….but it is a thriller with a resonance that you will find echoes even today.
Dalrymple tells the story of British troops invading Afghanistan, it’s a story of British incompetence, administrative failures, and two years of occupation which ended in utter humiliation. Sounds familiar? Except this is 1839 and the British were eventuallly routed in 1842 via snowy mountians by Afghan tribesmen, thousands of British troops perished alongside Indian sepoys, and eventually the lone figure of a Dr Brydon struggled into Jalalabad to tell the tale and alert the authorities.
If history isn’t your bag read it for the last chapter- A War for No Purpose. and for the Authors note. Dalrymple visited a village of Jandalak whilst researching the book. During lunch his hosts pointed out a holly barrier where the British had been massacred in 1842. The elders of the village were still talking about Envoy Sir William Macnaughten , Alexander Burnes and Dr Brydon and told him all invaders would meet the same fate. ( Macnaughton was beheaded, dismembered and hung up at the Four Roofed Bazaar in Kabul) Later the British aptly named Army of Retribution wreaked revenge throughout Afghanistan- so back to square one.
We never learn.
