Percival Spear (1901–1982)

This is Volume Two of a history of India since the earliest times, picking up the story at the commencement of the Mughal period. Now perhaps it is unfair to say that Percival Spear has written a history here that is more alive than Romila Thapar's contribution in Volume One. It is much easier to write about the recent rather than the ancient past. But whereas Thapar's volume seemed very much a chronicle; Spears has a kind of narrative energy that propels the reader along. And again, perhaps show more because of the richness of the more recent material, Spear is able to construct a persuasive back-story which brings the events that stand out on the stage of history into perspective, and connects them in a continuous sweep. A story of power, patronage and influence. Or perhaps more accurately - as Spears points out - a story of imperfect power, opportunism and a scramble for influence and identity.

One of the very few regrets I have in regard to this volume is that it was too short, and particularly in respect to the Mughal period too brief. But on the other hand, for a volume that set out to cover over four hundred years of history in a couple of hundred pages it has succeeded remarkably well in balancing out elements of the story without sacrificing quality or that fine grained attention to the facts. Spears hints at patterns and parallels that connect the Mughal period, the Raj and modern India are intriguing. And though they might be contentious, they give his work the quality of an argument that invites the reader to participate by thinking about what is written and impel them to go and read and learn more. Which is not a bad achievement for such a compact little history. Highly recommended. show less

The 4th edition of this book is a May-December marriage of Vincent Smith's vintage text about traditional India with Percival Spear's complete overhaul of the modern chapters. If they make for a somewhat odd couple, you still get more info about the Indian epoch than in any other single volume.

1/24/23