I adored Dalrymple's Return of a King; this one not so much. I knew no more about Afghanistan than I did about colonial India, but Dalrymple managed to educate me about the former - again, not so much about the latter. Of course, the latter is even more complex, but I never felt confident about the geography or tribal ethnicity of the main protagonists of The Anarchy. That said, I was clear about the causes of the Anarchy and its timeframe. Unfortunately, it was all rather a depressing mirror of the state I now live in and detest. Debauched, long-outdated aristocrats desperate to claw their last profit from the poor, outwitted by the first global corporation, imposed upon a culturally rich nation by foreigners who had yet to accumulate much culture of their own. The standout character was Shah Alam, the last hope of the Mugal Empire, who did his best, suffered much, and ultimately came to nothing much. Tipu Sultan of Mysore was another strong character but overall the cast seemed to be rather two-dimensional. Dalrymple only really came good when discussing those on both sides who truly loved India as much as he does. And the chapters were far too long.
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