By the time Queen Victoria came to the throne, India - some 1, 600, 000 square miles, ranging from soaring mountains to deserts and jungle swamps, populated by 400, 000, 000 people with a kaleidoscope of different cultures and religions - was firmly in the grip of a handful of British East India Company administrators, either ruling directly or through Indian nominees. However, the Company's search for a policy in western India embroiled it in a string of military campaigns, including one of the worst disasters ever to befall a British army. Ian Knight's fascinating text examines the absorbing, dramatic and brutal history of the Company's exploits against Victoria's Indian enemies.