With Clive in India is a historical fiction written by the famous author George Alfred Henty. Set in the mid-1700’s, With Clive in India follows the fictional character Charles Marryat as he serves for the British East India Company under the non-fictional character Robert Clive. It tells the story of how the English regained control of trading rights in India when France tried to usurp England. Charlie has many adventures and some close calls as he fights for the British East India Company.
First, we must look at the British East India Company before we can discuss the scenario that Charlie finds himself in. The British East India Company was the name of the company that carried on almost all of the English trade with India. People in the service of the company would travel to India and bring back spices and the like. The British East India Company was also responsible for keeping trade relations in India secure; hence, the company kept a fairly strong army employed to protect the country from invasion.
The book takes place in the mid-1700’s in India, although parts are at sea or in England. These are, however, few and far between. The story covers how the English drove the French out of India and claimed the rights to trade with the natives themselves. India would eventually become a province of the British Empire until they finally earned their Independence.
The main characters are Charles (Charlie) Marryat and Robert Clive. Charlie is a fictional character and doesn’t exist outside of the book. Clive, on the other hand, was a real person that fought for the British East India Company in real life. He won many battles that determined the tide of the war between England and France. Charlie was born and raised in England by his mother. He has two younger sisters. His father is dead. His great-uncle is the one that finds him a job in the British East India Company. Charlie has had no experience fighting, and so he learns when he is already in India. The reader gets to see his character growth from a young boy into a powerful general for the British East India Company.
I did not really enjoy this book very much. The assignment lengths were rather long for my liking, and they made it really hard to keep up on all my other schoolwork. I tried to solve my problem by listening to an audiobook, but they did not have the book on Audible and so I had to listen to the LibreVox audiobook instead. I really did not like the narration of that version of the audiobook and it sucked almost all of my enjoyment and understanding from the book. I think it was an entertaining title, but I chose the wrong way to read it. I feel inclined to re-read the book in my free time. I would have enjoyed this book if I wasn’t crunched for time and if I was reading instead of listening. Because of these facts, I am going to recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed The Lion of the North or Wulf the Saxon, both written by G.A. Henty. Just do not listen to the LibreVox version of the audiobook.