With a title that sounds like a back-catalogue effort from the Hallmark Channel, or maybe a mid-career musical theatre number by David Essex, The Sailor and the Dancing Girl is instead one of the latest releases in Helion and Co's "From Reason to Revolution" series from the keyboard of Andy Copestake.
Having known Andy a good few years (politeness demands that I state not the actual figure, but a driver of a similar age would have a considerable no claims bonus by now!) and being fellow TWATS (Tantobie Warfare And Tactical Society), I'd known that this tome was coming for a while now. Full disclosure: I paid for this copy with my own money, and neither Andy nor Helion & Co have had any input in to this review. Nor have they had sight of its contents prior to its public posting.
As soon as the title was announced on the Helion website, I signed up for release notification, and on day of publication, ordered it. Even with the vagaries of The Royal Mail these days, the package arrived a few days later, and upon opening it...
"Well, hello there little fella! You're a wee bit dinkier than I recall!"
Presumably for cost and sustainability reasons, the book that arrived was indeed smaller than previous volumes in the series - here's a comparison between Andy's first Helion release and his latest.
Whilst the text is a bit smaller and thus slightly more testing on these ageing peepers of mine (even with the reading glasses - yes, gentle reader, I'm at that stage of life), the overall result isn't too bad. Indeed, popping the book into my work bag for a couple of commutes to the office made me realise that the new format is certainly better if you want to carry the tome around. And as always with Helion's publications, the actual physical quality cannot be faulted.
Coming in at just over 210 pages, The Sailor and The Dancing Girl's subtitle tells the reader everything they should expect. The campaigns of General George Thomas and the Begum Somru are an intriguing mix of politics, warfare during the decline of the Moghul Empire, and inter-personal drama. Such events require background, and this is supplied by the opening chapters detailing the roles of mercenary's in 18th Century warfare, and the nature of the British involvement in Bengal.
From there we are introduced to the mercenary Walter Reinhardt. His marriage to a dancing girl, Farzana, allows the lady to inherit his brigade of troops, and rule the principality of Sardhana as the Begum Somru.
The narrative then switches to the life and times of George Thomas. Warfare and politics intertwine as battles are fought, alliances made (and betrayed), and the reach of economic colonialism asserts a new order on India.
This is another quality piece of work from Mr Copestake and one that has been a bit of a passion project for him. The narrative has a well-researched depth, and the bibliography contains a wealth of primary and secondary sources. The author isn't afraid to question existing histories on the subject matter, and where he does, the rationale provided is capably supported by references to the relevant sources.
Battles and machinations are described with clarity, and the imagery provided varies from contemporary illustrations and Victorian artwork, to a handful of modern photographs of the Red Fort. There are maps of general locales as well as for specific battles, and the usual mid-section artwork is nicely done.
Outside of the core text, there's a useful timeline, a chapter on the uniforms and organisation of the forces commanded by our principal pairing, and finally a list of known Europeans officers who held positions within those commands.
All in all, this is a very readable tome on an intriguing subject. Kudos to Andy and the team at Helion & Co for an excellent addition to the 'From Reason to Revolution" series, suitable for both historians and wargamers who wish to add verisimilitude to their on-table efforts.
You can pick up a copy of The Sailor and the Dancing Girl from HMV and David Essex's website the Helion & Co website here.
Why thank you kind Sir!
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