THE VICEROYS OF INDIA by Bence-Jones, Mark

St Martins Pr, New York, 1982. first US edition, hard bound in dust jacket, FINE/FINE CONDITION, xviii, 343 pages, prof. illustrated, notes, bibliog., index.----------------------------- In 1858, as a result of the Mutiny, the sovereignty of India passed from the East India Company to the British Crown; and the then Governor-General, Lord Canning, was given the more romantic title of Viceroy. This is a book about the Viceroys from 'Clemency' Canning to Mountbatten; about the men who held an office which, in its combination of responsibility and splendour, is without parallel in modern history. They include figures as diverse as the craggy John Lawrence and the charming and urbane Dufferin; the dynamic Mayo and the wayward Lytton; the humble, high-minded Ripon and the brilliant overbearing Curzon; the patrician Lansdowne and the self-made lawyer Reading. All are vividly portrayed against the background of their times in India; much use being made of contemporary letters — many of them unpublished — in order that they may be seen through the eyes of their colleagues and subordinates. -------------------------------------The book is not just about the Viceroys themselves, but also about their wives; ranging from the beautiful and tragic Lady Canning to the redoubtable Lady Willingdon. It is by no means confined to affairs of state, but gives a lively and nostalgic picture of the ceremonial and social side of Viceregal life over the course of a century; of the delights and discomforts of reigning in the Government Houses of Calcutta, Simla and Delhi, surrounded by a retinue of secretaries and ADCs, a bodyguard and an army of scarlet-clad servants; of Viceregal progresses by sedan-chair, elephant, houseboat, bullock-cart, railway-train and Dakota.