Clive was the right man at the right place and the right time. War gives people an opportunity to excel and there are many examples of people who are good at war and make a name for themselves. Fortunately, for him, war broke out – otherwise he would have died young and poor. As a young man, he worked as a clerk for the East India Company. He was certainly not a paradigm of selflessness. Clive went out to India as a humble clerk, and the story of his transformation into the most successful soldier of his time is astonishing.Ĭlive was a driven individual and a would-be suicide. One of the foremost names associated with the Anglo-French disputes in India at this time was Robert Clive, who did much to prevent India from becoming French. War came to the trading ports of the Bay of Bengal, alliances were formed with various local leaders and conflict was carried inexorably into the interior. During the hundred years before that, various parts of India were annexed and administered by the East India Company which filled a power vacuum created by the collapse of the Moghul empire.

Much has been written about the end of the British Raj in India, but how did British influence there start? In fact, the Raj - direct rule by the British crown - only began in the mid-19th Century. 'Talwar' is a novel set against the history-making events of those early days, entwined with the mystery surrounding one of the world's greatest jewels, the Koh-i-Noor diamond. A magnificent blend of historical adventure and romance 'in the great tradition of James Clavell.' Into this maelstrom steps trader's son, Hayden Flint, and Company clerk, Robert Clive. In India, Warring French and British trade interests are fighting for control of the decaying Moghul empire. The War of the Austrian Succession has been blazing for six years. The year is 1746, and the corporation is the East India Company. Imagine a corporation so powerful that it rules trade across the globe, fuels the first truly world war, creates governments and even gives birth to new countries.

Talwar by Robert Carter