A SOLDIER OF THE COMPANY LIFE OF AN INDIAN ENSIGN, 1833-43 CAPTAIN ALBERT HERVEY EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY CHARLES ALLEN MICHAEL JOSEPH: LONDON 1988 26 x 19 cm. xiv + 226 pp. HB/DJ From the early nineteenth century to the present day, the British fascination with India has never faded. For over 150 years a steady stream of young gentlemen made their way to India to join the army and make their fortunes. In A Soldier of the Company, Charles Allen, author of Plain Tales from the Raj and other studies of the British in India, has skilfully abridged the delightfully frank and perceptive memoirs of one young man — Captain Albert Hervey, who arrived as an innocent and eager cadet at Madras in 1833 to join the sepoy army of the East India Company. Although he rose to the rank of Major-General, this memoir covers Hervey's first impressionable years on the sub-continent in the heady days before the Indian Mutiny. Deeply struck by the mysterious and exotic country in which he found himself, Hervey vividly recalls his early experiences. From the duties of a young subaltern in barracks to a hard day's shikar in the padi-fields; from the giddy whirl of balls and mess nights to the chill of executions at dawn; and from the comic vexations of drunken servants to the medieval pageantry of an oriental army on the line of march, Hervey's evocation of a soldier's world is vibrant with the sights and sounds and minutiae of a way of life that seemed set to last for ever. Magnificently complemented by contemporary illustrations from the National Army Museum, few of which have ever been published before, A Soldier of the Company is a remarkable portrait of the last years of the East India Company. First published in 1853 but out of print for more than a century, this delightful book is a gem of social and military history.

A SOLDIER OF THE COMPANY

LIFE OF AN INDIAN ENSIGN, 1833-43

CAPTAIN ALBERT HERVEY

EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY
CHARLES ALLEN

MICHAEL JOSEPH: LONDON
1988

From the early nineteenth century to the present day, the British fascination with India has never faded. For over 150 years a steady stream of young gentlemen made their way to India to join the army and make their fortunes. In A Soldier of the Company, Charles Allen, author of Plain Tales from the Raj and other studies of the British in India, has skilfully abridged the delightfully frank and perceptive memoirs of one young man — Captain Albert Hervey, who arrived as an innocent and eager cadet at Madras in 1833 to join the sepoy army of the East India Company.

Although he rose to the rank of Major-General, this memoir covers Hervey's first impressionable years on the sub-continent in the heady days before the Indian Mutiny. Deeply struck by the mysterious and exotic country in which he found himself, Hervey vividly recalls his early experiences. From the duties of a young subaltern in barracks to a hard day's shikar in the padi-fields; from the giddy whirl of balls and mess nights to the chill of executions at dawn; and from the comic vexations of drunken servants to the medieval pageantry of an oriental army on the line of march, Hervey's evocation of a soldier's world is vibrant with the sights and sounds and minutiae of a way of life that seemed set to last for ever.

Magnificently complemented by contemporary illustrations from the National Army Museum, few of which have ever been published before, A Soldier of the Company is a remarkable portrait of the last years of the East India Company. First published in 1853 but out of print for more than a century, this delightful book is a gem of social and military history.

26 x 19 cm. xiv + 226 pp.

Very good condition. Dust jacket has a repaired tear to the rear bottom corner. A hint of age toning to the page edges but otherwise clean and tidy.






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