Author: Roy Moxham
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 234
ISBN/UPC (if available): 1841192600
Description
'The Great Hedge of India' is extraordinary—a cross between a travel book and an historical detective story.
It offers a keyhole view into the motivations and administration of British Imperial India, together with the story of one man's obsession. Above all, it shows how a lost wonder of history could have remained forgotten had someone with determination and curiosity not found a dusty volume in a second-hand bookshop.
REVIEWS :
'At first I thought this remarkable book must be a hoax, but it isn't. It tells the story of one of the least-known wonders of Queen Victoria's India - a customs barrier 2,300 miles long, most of it made of hedge. It was manned by 12,000 men and would have stretched from London to Constantinople, yet few historians mention it and most of us have never heard of it.'
— Jain Morris
'Little could Roy Moxham have imagined what was in store for him when he set off from the map from the RGS in search of probably the longest hedge in the whole world, the very existence of which had been completely forgotten with the passing of the years. The result is a book about India, which is both scholarly and funny - a rare combination. It surprised me and I hugely enjoyed it.'
— Eric Newby
'This improbable story, despite its prickly appeal to nationalist historians, was practically unknown until Roy Moxham began his quest. It makes for a compelling read, simply told and simply wonderful.'
— John Keay
Contents
Map of India
1. A Hedge?
2. The Salt Tax
3. Maps
4. The Customs Line
5. Agra
6. The Customs Hedge
7. Salt
8. A Ridiculous Obsession
9. Rebellion
10. Tamarind Trees
11. The Chambal
Glossary
Weights and Measures
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
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