Return to Bhanupur

Set around a century ago, the story follows Maharaja Amar Singh II and his clever prime minister Chatterjee as they navigate difficult political and social questions. The Maharaja must deal with succession, relations with British officials, demands for administrative reform and the controversy surrounding a sea voyage to England.

Giles Tillotson is a writer and lecturer specialising in Indian history and architecture. He taught at the University of London and has written several books on India, including Mughal India, Jaipur Nama and Taj Mahal. Return to Bhanupur was his first work of fiction.

The novel portrays the fictional Bhanupur court during a period of political and social transformation. Maharaja Amar Singh II faces questions of succession, modernisation and relations with the British while his prime minister Chatterjee works to solve increasingly complicated problems. As tensions rise and the story moves towards its tragic conclusion, the characters’ beliefs, ambitions and loyalties are revealed.