The Last Great Imperial Adventurer

Younghusband

Beautifully written, wise, balanced, fair, funny and above all extremely original

I found myself reading through the night. This is a rare gem of a book, one which so perfectly combines author and subject that it must set new standards for the future of historical biography

A glorious biography, fair, frank and always interesting ... They don't come much more enjoyable than this

A charming biography which mingles travel with impressive research

Patrick French is a writer and historian, born in England in 1966. He is the author of Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, which won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Society of Literature W. H. Heinemann Prize, Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division , which won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land and, most recently, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Hawthornden Prize.

Soldier, explorer, mystic, guru and spy, Francis Younghusband began his colonial career as a military adventurer and became a radical visionary who preached free love to his followers. 
 
Patrick French's award-winning biography traces the unpredictable life of the maverick with the 'damned rum name', who singlehandedly led the 1904 British invasion of Tibet, discovered a new route from China to India, organized the first expeditions up Mount Everest and attempted to start a new world religion. Following in Younghusband's footsteps, from Calcutta to the snows of the Himalayas, French pieces together the story of a man who embodies all the romance and folly of Britain's lost imperial dream.

A Personal History of a Lost Land

Tibet, Tibet

From the author of India: A Portrait, Patrick French's Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land has been acclaimed as the book that showed the real Tibet for the first time. 
 
 Tibet has long fascinated the West, but what really lies beyond our romantic image of a Buddhist mountain kingdom of peace and spirituality? 
 
 Travelling through the country, French meets warrior monks, nomads and a nun secretly fighting Chinese communist rule, but also young Tibetans with a more pragmatic attitude to their situation. Interweaving these encounters with little-known stories of war and turmoil from Tibet's past, he reveals a more nuanced, fascinating and surprising picture of this complex place than any other book has done. 
 
 'Mixes a compelling subject, magnificent prose and deep understanding' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The Times 
 
 'Inspired and heartfelt ... shows that Tibet was never the peace-loving paradise so many generations of well-wishers have longed for it to be' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Pico Iyer, Los Angeles Times 
 
 'Tibet, Tibet, so good they named it twice ... French is a writer of generous talents' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday Times 
 
 'French has produced something very different from what he calls "Tibetophile" literature, something greatly superior in its honesty and lack of false sentiment' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Spectator 
 
 'A gripping mix of history, travel writing and personal memoir ... vividly told' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Observer 
 
 Patrick French is the author of Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, which won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Society of Literature W. H. Heinemann Prize, Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division, which won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land and, most recently, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Hawthornden Prize.

Mixes a compelling subject, magnificent prose and deep understanding

Inspired and heartfelt ... shows that Tibet was never the peace-loving paradise so many generations of well-wishers have longed for it to be

Tibet, Tibet, so good they named it twice ... French is a writer of generous talents

French has produced something very different from what he calls "Tibetophile" literature, something greatly superior in its honesty and lack of false sentiment

A gripping mix of history, travel writing and personal memoir... vividly told.

An accomplished writer and a keen observer (French) reports his findings vividly... French's reporting is excellent and this is an enjoyable and informative tour of Tibet.

First hand accounts of everyday experiences gleaned from close contact with Tibetan priests, politicians and peasants illuminate this moving book of modern day Tibet.

Tibet has long fascinated the West, but what really lies beyond our romantic image of a mystical mountain kingdom of peace and spirituality? Patrick French set out to discover the truth, and his extraordinary account has been widely acclaimed. 
 
Travelling through the country, French meets exiled monks, nomads and a nun secretly fighting Chinese rule, but also young Tibetans with a more pragmatic attitude to their situation. Interweaving these encounters with little-known stories of war and turmoil from Tibet's past, he reveals a more nuanced, fascinating and surprising picture of this complex place than any other book has done.

India's Journey to Independence and Division

Liberty or Death

Liberty or Death is Patrick French's vivid and surprising account of the chaotic final years of colonial rule in India, acclaimed as the definitive book on this subject. 
 
 At midnight on 14 August 1947, Great Britain's 350-year-old Indian Empire was broken into three pieces. The greatest mass migration in history began, as Muslims fled north and Hindus fled south, and Britain's role as an imperial power came to an end. 
 
 Journeying across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Patrick French brings to life a cast of characters including spies, idealists, freedom fighters and politicians from Winston Churchill to Mahatma Gandhi. The result is a compelling story of deal-making, missed opportunities, hope and tragedy. 
 'A fine, lucid book ... vividly drawn with novel-like touches' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Hanif Kureshi 
 
 'Extraordinarily able and nuanced ... a brilliant book on an important subject ... French is the most impressive Western historian of modern India currently at work' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Herald 
 'Beautifully written' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday Times 
 'French is a natural storyteller ... a delightful tale of intrigue, ham-handedness and just plain blundering' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;India Today 
 
 Patrick French is the author of India: A Portrait, Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, which won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Society of Literature W. H. Heinemann Prize, Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Hawthornden Prize.

A remarkable achievement ... a huge, crowded and kaleidoscopic canvas, which the author handles with remarkable authority ... It is also enormous fun to read

A fine, lucid book ... vividly drawn with novel-like touches

French is a natural storyteller ... a delightful tale of intrigue, ham-handedness and just plain blundering

At midnight on 14 August 1947, Britain's 350-year-old Indian Empire was broken into three pieces. The greatest mass migration in history began, as Muslims fled north and Hindus fled south, and Britain's role as an imperial power came to an end. 
 
Patrick French's vivid and surprising account of the chaotic final years of colonial rule in India has been acclaimed as the definitive book on this subject. Journeying across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, he brings to life a cast of characters including spies, idealists, freedom fighters and politicians from Churchill to Gandhi.

Patrick French

French combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth.

It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India

Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable

French is a fine reporter, with an appealing fascination for all things Indian ... an accomplished portrait of momentous times in a remarkable country

Admirable ... There are many Indias, and Patrick French sets out, with enthusiasm and empathy, to encounter as many as he can find

Mr. French compresses 63 years of post-independence history into 450-odd pages fizzing with wit, insight and infectious curiosity ... a riveting read, and one suspects that Mr. French could not pen a boring passage if he tried.

A Portrait

One of this century's greatest surprises has been the economic and social revolution in India. What is the real nature of this rapid change, and where are its roots? 
 
India takes the reader on an extraordinary journey, geographically from the remote Buddhist north to the tropical far south and socially from the new multi-millionaires to the many Indians still crushed by caste and poverty. This is the book for anyone wanting to get to grips with this extraordinary country - and French, with his in-depth knowledge and understanding of India, is perfectly placed to write it.

India

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

Patrick French

Praise for India

French combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth.

It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India

Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable

French combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth.

It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India

Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable

French combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth.

It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India

Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable

Books by Patrick French

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter