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| Indian Mutiny & Beyond: The Letters of Robert Shebbeare VC |  | Creator: Arthur Littlewood
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Category: Book
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £9.95
You Save: £10.04 (50%)
New (21) Used (3) from £9.95
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 595958
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1844155749
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9781844155743
ASIN: 1844155749
Publication Date: July 19, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Shebbeare VC October 16, 2007
J. E. Pratt (Scotland)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is not often that primary sources in their entirety make compulsive reading. However, in Arthur Littlewood's editing of Robert Shebbeare's letters from India we have a notable exception. This small book is exciting and riveting, from start to finish. Indeed, the fact that we know from the very start what the finish will be enhances the narrative.
The book is centred on the letters of a young English subaltern cadet in the mid nineteenth century, who at the age of 17 left a middle-class suburban home near London to make a career in the Indian army shortly before it was to be wracked by mutiny. Robert writes to his extended family from India and China from 1844 until shortly before his death in 1860, and his letters (though of no outstanding literary merit) paint a vivid picture of the harshness of the life he chose. The letters do not lack wit or acerbity, and the characters of his fellow officers are finely drawn, especially the unfortunate Colonel Drought, who was relieved of his command early in the mutiny. We assume he will appear no more. It is with some relief that we learn (Nov 1st 1857) that ...'Old Dickey Drought managed to get shot through the body and has become more of an idiot than before, I hear. He is recovering from his wound and will not eventually suffer from it... '
So, the letters themselves are worth the reading. But what makes the book compelling is the author's commentary, interspersed between the letters throughout the book to give them context, either by explanation or by the careful use of contemporary writing by Shebbeare's fellow officers. Shebbeare was reticent about his bravery, and it takes others to shake out the story which lay behind his winning the VC at the siege of Delhi. He was clearly a young officer of great talent and considerable potential; the sadness of the book is that his early death has robbed us of a life which, had it lasted longer, may have enlightened us more. Indeed, there is contemporary relevance in the sacrifice of young lives abroad. The book is beautifully presented, and is well illustrated with photographs of Shebbeare and his soldiers: a fearsome looking bunch.
Arthur Littlewood has published little, but those if us who have been privileged to enjoy his succinct, precise prose are not surprised by the quality of his writing in this book, and we look forward to his next.
If I have a criticism, it is that I find the excuses he makes for the insertion of material which he considers peripheral (such as Appendix II, offered as 'an optional extra' ) quite unnecessary, since the information he provides on later members of the family is germane and relevant to getting a feel for Richard's temperament.
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