Dawning of the Raj

Nothing in the history of empire is stranger than the creation of British rule in India, where a small European island became master of a subcontinent ranging from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas. In the late 18th century the person most responsible for this was Warren Hastings, Britain's first governor-general of India. Jeremy Bernstein brings Hastings's story vividly to life amidst the rise of British power. His impeachment trial, one of the great spectacles of the age, forms the conclusion to this fascinating, unusual, and ultimately powerful narrative. "A riveting book, beautifully researched and narrated....It has opened a whole chapter, many chapters, of social and political history for me."—Oliver Sacks.