Captain James Ogilvie led B Company of the Queen’s Own Royal Strathspeys, the 114th Highlanders, through the thronged streets of London.
It was the diamond jubilee of the Queen Empress, and a day he would always remember with pride, as his company represented the British Army in India.
But away on the North West Frontier trouble did not pause for the celebrations of the Raj.
The Rajah of Drosh had rebelled, battalion losses were heavy, and Ogilvie was going to have to return to India with a larger than usual draft of raw recruits from the regimental depot at Invermore.
Among these was a gentleman ranker, a fugitive from the Guards, who was to find his craving for active service brutally and plentifully fulfilled up the Chitral River and in the sniper fire of the passes between Peshawar and Drosh.
Back in cantonments Ogilvie discovers his commanding officer has more on his mind than battalion losses, grievous though they have been.
His second in command, the irascible, intemperate Major Lord Brora has gone absent without leave and has been reported consorting with the rebel Rajah.
Calcutta is reluctant to disown Brora until a lot more is known. That he is a notorious womaniser and the Rajah of Drosh makes a profitable living from the female slave trade is not an encouraging conjunction of facts.
To discover more Ogilvie is seconded once again to the Political Service and sent in Afghan disguise into the terrorised walled town of Drosh, while the regiment also marches towards the town but with horrendous consequences.
Praise for Philip McCutchan:
"His character conflicts are well organised." — Daily Telegraph
"A most exciting successor to his first novel — and it is just as rugged." — The Times, Hamilton, New Zealand
“Hurtling plot, quick dialogue ...” Kirkus
“Written in the best tradition of Henty, Haggard, and Kipling.” Library Journal
“[McCutchan] vividly captures the mingled glory and brutality of colonial life, his characterization is convincing ... and his fighting scenes, particularly the full-scale engagement that climaxes this story, are exciting.” Publishers Weekly
Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime’s interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
It was the diamond jubilee of the Queen Empress, and a day he would always remember with pride, as his company represented the British Army in India.
But away on the North West Frontier trouble did not pause for the celebrations of the Raj.
The Rajah of Drosh had rebelled, battalion losses were heavy, and Ogilvie was going to have to return to India with a larger than usual draft of raw recruits from the regimental depot at Invermore.
Among these was a gentleman ranker, a fugitive from the Guards, who was to find his craving for active service brutally and plentifully fulfilled up the Chitral River and in the sniper fire of the passes between Peshawar and Drosh.
Back in cantonments Ogilvie discovers his commanding officer has more on his mind than battalion losses, grievous though they have been.
His second in command, the irascible, intemperate Major Lord Brora has gone absent without leave and has been reported consorting with the rebel Rajah.
Calcutta is reluctant to disown Brora until a lot more is known. That he is a notorious womaniser and the Rajah of Drosh makes a profitable living from the female slave trade is not an encouraging conjunction of facts.
To discover more Ogilvie is seconded once again to the Political Service and sent in Afghan disguise into the terrorised walled town of Drosh, while the regiment also marches towards the town but with horrendous consequences.
Praise for Philip McCutchan:
"His character conflicts are well organised." — Daily Telegraph
"A most exciting successor to his first novel — and it is just as rugged." — The Times, Hamilton, New Zealand
“Hurtling plot, quick dialogue ...” Kirkus
“Written in the best tradition of Henty, Haggard, and Kipling.” Library Journal
“[McCutchan] vividly captures the mingled glory and brutality of colonial life, his characterization is convincing ... and his fighting scenes, particularly the full-scale engagement that climaxes this story, are exciting.” Publishers Weekly
Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime’s interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
