From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

Inglorious Exit

"Poor, accident-prone Dickie [Mountbatten], long known in the Admiralty as the ‘Master of Disaster,’ had been given more power over 400 million subjects of the British king-emperor than any preceding viceroy. The task of reconciling the Indian politicians, reestablishing public order, and finding a formula for an independent India was awesome, and quite beyond Mountbatten’s experience. India would have been within its rights to panic, but from the British government’s point of vie

Inglorious Exit

"Poor, accident-prone Dickie [Mountbatten], long known in the Admiralty as the ‘Master of Disaster,’ had been given more power over 400 million subjects of the British king-emperor than any preceding viceroy. The task of reconciling the Indian politicians, reestablishing public order, and finding a formula for an independent India was awesome, and quite beyond Mountbatten’s experience. India would have been within its rights to panic, but from the British government’s point of view, Dickie’s appointment had been a clever move. He was a gung-ho sort and could be relied upon to remove himself, and his nation, by any means necessary. And, by this stage, the British government did not care much which means were necessary. The end was its only concern.”

Alex von Tunzelmann's lively account of the end of the British raj pulls no punches, as the above paragraph demonstrates. The author deftly juggles the lives of Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Nehru, Gandhi, and Jinnah, against a broad historical canvas. While more detailed (and less witty) accounts may provide more authoritative histories, I doubt there are few as entertaining or insightful. This is history written from the top, gazing fixedly at the personalities and actions of the central players in a distinctly non-Tolstoyan manner.

Particularly interesting are the insights into the personal foibles of those that popular history has cast into largely heroic molds -- not only the aforementioned Lord Mountbatten, but Churchill and Gandhi as well. The latter appears much less saintly than commonly assumed, even deluded at times. For example, at the outset of World War II, Gandhi urges the British to give up the fight against Hitler and Mussolini: "Let them take possession of your beautiful island… allow yourself, man, woman, and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to vow allegiance to them." He gives similar advice to the Jews, whom he urges to sacrifice themselves in a heroic act of passive resistance.

Equally intriguing was her assessment of the difference between Nehru and the Mahatma: "Nehru saw social and economic hardship as a cause of suffering, and therefore wanted to end it; Gandhi saw hardship as noble and righteous, and therefore wanted to spread the blessings of poverty and humiliation to all people.”

The book is at its best, though, when it focuses on the complicated if not downright tortuous relationship of Edwina and Dickie Mountbatten, which, after Mountbatten became viceroy of India, gave way to a ménage à trois of the Mountbattens and Jawaharlal Nehru. The long affair between Nehru and Edwina makes a compelling tale, and cast against the backdrop of the horrors of partition is even more affecting.

One unresolved peculiarity of the book, for me, was what seemed an ambivalent view of Mountbatten. The author seems to be at pains to present him at his most pompous and ridiculous at first, detailing his mishaps as a naval commander and his penchant for social climbing. Then she suddenly makes a volte-face and stoutly defends his actions as a viceroy, opining that "Mountbatten was serving his country with as much loyalty, courage, and determination as had… other heroes. Mountbatten turned a stagnating mess into perhaps the most successful retreat from empire in history – from the point of view of the imperialist nation, at least.”

However, at the end of the book, I felt I not only had a finer grasp of a complex historical juncture but also more insight into the men (and women) at the helm of events. I also better understand how these events are still playing out in India and Pakistan today, particularly in regards to Kashmir. I look forward to reading more by this author.