The Patient Assassin

A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj

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The Patient Assassin

By: Anita Anand

Narrated by: Anita Anand

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About this listen

WINNER OF THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZE

'Reads like something from a thriller…colourful, detailed and meticulously researched' Sunday Times
‘Gripping from start to finish' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
Hundreds of peaceful civilians were slaughtered in the Amritsar Massacre of 13 April 1919, after British troops opened fire without warning. According to legend, Udham Singh was among the injured that day, and he vowed to take revenge. More than twenty years later, in a Westminster hall, he fulfilled that promise when he gunned down in cold blood the man ultimately responsible, Sir Michael O'Dwyer.

But what happened in the intervening years? In this sweeping narrative that takes the reader across four continents, Anita Anand separates reality from myth to reveal Singh's astonishing story. She brilliantly pieces together his movements, discovering surprising new links that take us from Jazz Age New York to the shady world of international spy rings. The Patient Assassin shines a devastating light on one of the Raj's most horrific events, but reads like a taut thriller.©2019 Anita Anand (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK

Colonialism & Post-Colonialism

Politics & Government

South Asian Creators

World

Colonial Period

Heartfelt

Africa

Thought-Provoking

Imperialism

Solider

Assassin

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Critic reviews

'Reads like something from a thriller…colourful, detailed and meticulously researched account...the book really shines in evoking the fevered atmosphere of India in the late 1910s and early 1920s.' (Dominic Sandbrook)

'Anita Anand’s remarkable and brilliantly researched non-fiction thriller, The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj, [is] well-written, contains new research and breaks much fresh ground... Anita Anand focuses on one extraordinary story that had never been properly told before. Through some remarkable research in archives around the world, Anand has reconstructed much of [Udham Singh's] life.' (William Dalrymple)

'An excellent and important book' (Mishal Husain)

'Briskly plotted, scrupulously even-handed and altogether riveting' (John Preston)

'A jaw-dropping true story...Udham Singh [survived] the massacre [at Amritsar] and swore vengeance. Like a real-life Tom Ripley, he assumed multiple identities and bided his time...and shot the former governor of the Punjab through the heart at point-blank range. Rough justice; brutally poetic.' (Richard Madeley)

‘An astonishing story, brilliantly told.’ (Dan Snow)

'Fabulous book' (Jeremy Vine)

Most relevant

This is a compelling and sympathetic account of a shameful act of Empire. Superbly read by the author.