I am pleased to announce that next Monday, 19 May at 7.30 pm UK time (+1 Europe), Barnthorn has invited me for a chat to present Courage in Chaos. Anyone who would like to join in, please do register using the Google form:
If you are interested in watching me stumble over my words, grapple with facts and look bewildered, please do come along! No, it won’t be like that at all, I promise.
I am looking forward to your questions and, above all, your support! It should be a fun, lively hour.
There will be two more interviews coming up in June, though neither of them will be live. I will, of course, let you know when these come out and post the links to the site. The interview on Monday will be recorded and should be on YouTube shortly after.
The books are both available now for purchase on Amazon UK, Europe, the USA, and Australia. If this does not cover your geographical location, please let me know. I am quite disappointed that the books are not available on Amazon India. As such, I do have a limited amount of both books available, and we can see together what we can do. If you are in India or anywhere the books are not available, and would like a copy, please let me know at my email address:
e.chatterji@protonmail.com
Plans for Mutiny Reflections
As you all know, writing this book, as with The Lucknow Residency, A Story of 1857, would not have been possible without your kind encouragement. I never expected this site would reach so many people as it does now, which gives me the drive to continue writing.
I am hoping in the future to invite guest writers to contribute to the site, and as such, I would like to start with you, my readers. If anyone out there would like to contribute to any topic concerning the mutiny, please do contact me! Do let me know if there is something of burning interest that I am not currently covering, which you would like to read about? Let me know. I also know some of you have family interests in India — would you like to write about your background in India? I would be more than happy to hear from you!
However, I do have to provide a small disclaimer here. I would like to point out that I will not engage in political debate nor muddy this site with it, although I have had plenty of backlash for not doing so: it is not here to discuss current flavours in attitudes regarding colonialism, compensation payments for ex-colonies or Winston Churchill of all people. There are plenty of people getting their knickers in a twist at the moment; this site will not become one of them. My motivations have been clear from the start; I give credit where credit is due and try my best to stay as true to events. As we shall see in 1858, the British had much to answer for regarding their behaviour, and this will be addressed. I will also not engage in fanciful figures or promote nonsensical statements such as this gem I have found online regarding the Battle of Auwa: Holmes had 30,000 men at his disposal, and he spent 6 months languishing in front of Auwa. This is almost as silly as the misconceptions about Narnaul.
To put to rest some questions I have had recently, Mutiny Reflections will not be monetised. There are plenty of writers nowadays who are hiding their work behind paywalls, saying they deserve to be paid for the work they do. Although I do understand their point of view, I firmly believe the knowledge I am passing on here should be free; the work I put into it is my pride and joy; how can I put a monetary value on that? I am grateful for your support, your comments, and if you have a cent to spare, the occasional buy me a coffee is always beloved! However, none of these things are obligatory, and I hope my readers continue to enjoy the site for what it is. Your interest is what keeps this site going!
Future Posts
For a start, I hope the links I am providing in the posts now are proving beneficial to readers. The idea is that you no longer have to scramble back and forth looking for posts and have the information you need at a click. I would very much like some feedback on whether this method is working for you! The site cleaning is more or less complete; there is still some tweaking to do, but basically, things are as they should be. As new information comes to light, I will continue to rewrite older posts, as I have recently done with Shahjahanpore.
I am squarely in Central India at the moment, following Sir Hugh Rose and have just started a chapter on the final Rajputana campaign. Many of you must be wondering why I am ignoring the retaking of Lucknow, which happened in March.
Well, there is a reason for this: without the efforts of Sir Hugh Rose, Sir Colin Campbell would have had a substantial force in his back, which would have made proceeding to Lucknow very difficult. As Sir Colin Campbell was forbidden from proceeding to Rohilkhand as he had wanted, he was forced by the Calcutta denizens to retake Lucknow instead. He needed to have separate campaigns in the works to prevent Tantia Tope from returning to Oudh, which is why the pacification of Central India and Rajputana would prove to be so important. This will all be explained when I return to Lucknow, so if anyone is wondering why I am not proceeding with Oudh at the moment, this is the reason. Rajputana will be halted for a moment after the next chapter on Kotah — for Sir Hugh Rose to advance to Kalpi, Kotah needs to be taken first. The mutiny is very much a puzzle, with cause and consequence at each turn, with one event not being possible without the other first.
I am hoping to provide as many personal accounts as I can find regarding Central India and Rajputana. Unfortunately, the men who fought in these campaigns were less talkative than our friends from Delhi and Lucknow, so the writings are very battle-focused — our most chatty Lieutenant Prendergast, who took us through the Malwa Campaign, will soon be on his way home due to injury.
1858 will focus mainly on battles. The times of escapes and mutiny are more or less over, although there are a few chapters left to explore here as well, as will be seen in due time. I am also preparing a rather long chapter on the trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the unfortunate ruler of Delhi — this will look into the details of his court case and should prove interesting reading. There will also be a return to Bombay for a moment, and I am trying to piece together what happened in Madras, where there was no mutiny but, nevertheless, a brief time of discontent.
I hope, my dear readers, I can continue providing you with captivating readings, and as always, I wish you all the best in health and happiness!
Always pack your elephants carefully.
With kind wishes,
Eva
Mutiny Reflections 