''Nightrunners of Bengal'' is the title of the first novel by
John Masters
Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British novelist and regular officer of the Indian Army.
In World War II, he served with the Chindits behind enemy lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 (chief st ...
. It is a work of historical fiction set against the background of the
Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
of 1857. It was published in 1951 in the United Kingdom by Michael Joseph, London, and in the United States (also 1951) by the Viking Press, New York.
The novel at first attracted criticism from reviewers, who objected to the depiction of Indians and what they perceived as overly graphic descriptions of acts of violence. However, it was made the American
Literary Guild
The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encourag ...
's Book of the Month on publication, and was widely sold.
Plot introduction
It introduced the fictional Savage family, whose history of service in British India rather resembled that of Masters' ancestors.
Plot summary
The novel is set in the
Presidency of Bengal
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
at the time of the
Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
of 1857. The central character, Captain Rodney Savage, is an officer in a
Bengal Native Infantry
The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...
regiment, stationed in the fictional city of Bhowani (which is in about the same location as the real city of
Jhansi
Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative hea ...
). He is restless with garrison life, but is devoted to his regiment and its
sepoy
''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire.
In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...
s (Indian soldiers).
In spite of his empathy with the sepoys, Savage does not realise that fear and resentment are driving them to intrigue with local rulers and other conspirators against the
rule
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education
* Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule perta ...
of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. The complacent life of the
British community in Bengal is shattered by the Rebellion. Most of the British officers of the Bhowani garrison and their families (including Savage's wife) are killed in the outbreak or are subsequently murdered.
Savage escapes the massacre along with his infant son and an English woman, Caroline Langford. The small group of refugees are sheltered by sympathetic Indian villagers. For some time Savage's sense of betrayal and loss drives him into blind hatred of all Indians and he kills an Indian officer who was his friend. Eventually the humanity and tolerance of the villagers, combined with his growing love for Caroline, enable him to recover from his near insanity. On reaching the British forces gathering to suppress the rebellion Savage finds that they also have become infected with a desire for racist reprisals.
In a final clash, an emotionally torn Savage fights against his own former regiment. A charge by Indian
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
who have remained loyal to the British turns the tide of battle.
The "nightrunners" in the title are messengers who distributed
chapati
Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rotli'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', (in East Africa) ''chapo'', (in Marathi) ''poli'', and (in the Maldives) ...
s shortly before the outbreak of the rebellion. This mysterious historic incident remains unexplained.
Principal characters
*Rodney Savage – captain in the fictional 13th Rifles, Bengal Native Infantry
*Caroline Langford – an Englishwoman visiting India who becomes Savage's new love
*Sumitra Devi, ''Rani'' (queen) of Kishanpur – female regent of the semi-independent princely state of Kishanapur
*Dewan of Kishanpur – chief minister under the Rani
*"The Silver Guru" – revered ascetic holy man (revealed towards the end as an Irish deserter from the British army and
leper
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damage ...
)
*Dellamain Mr – East India Company commissioner to Kishanapur and senior British civilian official in Bhowani.
*
Risaldar
Risaldar, meaning the commander of a ''risala'' or ''risalah'' (a body of horse, regardless if troop or regiment) in Persian, is a mid-level rank in cavalry and armoured units of the Indian and Pakistan Army. In other arms, such as the infantry, t ...
Rikirao Purohit – a veteran Indian officer who leads the cavalry charge
Relations with other books in the series
''Coromandel!'' (1955) Takes place in the 17th-century, when an English youth named Savage runs away to sea and ends up in India – starting the family's centuries-long history of serving there.
''
The Deceivers'' is about Rodney's father, William, who suppresses the
Thugee
Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...
. William's butler, Sher Dil, also appears in ''Nightrunners of Bengal'', now an old man, and working for Rodney. Piroo, an ex-Thug who was one of William's band in ''
The Deceivers'' also appears in this book. He guides the English survivors to safety, amused at the irony that he is saving the son and grandson of the man who nearly had him hanged.
Rodney Savage appears as a middle-aged colonel, now married to Caroline, in ''
The Lotus and the Wind'' and in ''
Far, Far the Mountain Peak'' as an elderly retired general. He also makes a final appearance in ''
The Ravi Lancers
''The Ravi Lancers'' (1972) is a novel by John Masters. It is part of his series of novels portraying the British Raj through the experiences of members of the Savage family.
Many of the incidents portrayed are based on the reminiscences of fami ...
'' as a very old but still vivid man in 1915, who meets his younger relative, one of that book's main two protagonists. The elder Savage speaks then with concern of the conduct of the First World War.
Robin Savage, Rodney's son, features in ''
The Lotus and the Wind'', a novel about the
Great Game
The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...
. Emotionally scarred by the trauma of his experiences as a child during the Mutiny of 1857 Robin becomes a secret agent and ultimately vanishes into Afghanistan.
''
Bhowani Junction
''Bhowani Junction'' is a 1954 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a 1956 film starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. It is set amidst the turbulence of the British withdrawal from India. It is notable for its portrayal of the Eu ...
'', set in 1946–47, seems intended as a counterpoint to "Nightrunners of Bengal", and the two are more closely related to each other than to the other books of the Savage series. The later book also takes place in the fictional Bhowani and its environs, and specific locations are seen again changed by the passage of the century (for example, the metalled road which plays a significant part in ''Nightrunners'' has been replaced by the railway which plays an important role in ''Junction''). Moreover, one of the later book's protagonists is also called Rodney Savage (the great-grandson of the central character of ''Nightrunners'') and in many ways seems the same character. He meets the descendants of Sumitra Devi in the same settings where his ancestor had met her.
In the final sequel, ''
To the Coral Strand'', this later Rodney Savage decides to stay on after the end of the British Raj and find a place for himself in the independent India.
Awards and nominations
The novel was awarded the
American Literary Guild's Book of the Month upon publication.
Adaptation
Film rights were bought by the Rank Organisation.
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ...
was to direct from an
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
script and
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor.
Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...
was going to star.
In the early 1960s
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
expressed interest in making the film for
Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston (March 26, 1908 – January 12, 1994) was a Bessarabian-born American film producer, film director, and a nephew of socialist revolutionary figure, Leon Trotsky. He was also the petitioner in a U.S. Supreme Court case that set a ...
with
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films.
Backgro ...
.
However the film was never made.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightrunners Of Bengal
1951 British novels
Novels by John Masters
Fiction set in 1857
Novels set in Bengal
Novels about the Indian Rebellion of 1857
1951 debut novels
Cultural depictions of Rani Laxmibai
Michael Joseph books