Mulberry Empire, The

Description:
The breakthrough novel from one of Britain's most brilliant critics. 'The Mulberry Empire' is a seemingly straightforward historical novel that recounts an episode in the Great Game in central Asia -- the courtship, betrayal and invasion of Afghanistan in the 1830s by the emissaries of Her Majesty's Empire, which is followed by the bloody and summary expulsion of the Brits from Kabul following an Afghani insurrection (shades of the Soviet Union's final imperial fling in the very same country in the 1980s). The novel has at its heart the encounter between West and East as embodied in the likeable, complex relationship between Alexander Burnes, leader of the initial British expeditionary party, and the wily, cultured Afghani ruler, the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan.

Review:
'There is pleasure here, in passion and in absurdity, in landscape and in conversation, in costume and in food. There is pleasure, above all, in writing. A delightful entertainment, a timely social and political commentary, and a highly literary and ambitious novel.' Ahdaf Soueif, Guardian 'Outstanding!Hensher reveals the significance of the small moment, of great figures seen in close-up, and of a subtle, sensuous intimacy with the fabric of these long-gone lives. The effect is exhilarating.' Helen Dunmore, The Times 'A huge, perhaps unique achievement!deeply human, gorgeous, glittering and never dull.' Murrough O'Brien, Independent on Sunday 'Exuberant, overflowing with life, highly-coloured, entrancing: a novel to lose yourself in!Nabokov said that the novelist must be storyteller, teacher, and enchanter. In this novel Hensher is triumphantly all three.' Allan Massie, Scotsman 'Loaded with exotic local detail, from London to Calcutta, St Petersburg to Kabul!Irresistible.' Daily Mail 'A remarkable achievement. I can pay Philip Hensher no higher compliment than to say his overview of the follies of 'history' recalls War and Peace! The rich imagery and the vivid characterisation of a splendidly varied cast make The Mulberry Empire a truly tremendous read.' Mail on Sunday 'A triumph of style and research: a novel as brocaded, exuberant, colourful and violent as its subject matter.' LRB 'An exotic cautionary tale alive with topical relevance, ideal for lovers of superbly written historical fiction.' Sunday Express 'Prepare to be dazzled! The Mulberry Empire is executed with flair, confidence and great energy -- a really terrific read and one hell of an achievement.' Victoria Glendinning, Daily Telegraph 'The cast of characters is extensive, the grandiloquence of empire wonderfully evoked; The Mulberry Empire will be read with pleasure for years to come.' Justin Marozzi, Spectator

Author Biography:
Philip Hensher is a columnist for The Independent, arts critic for The Spectator and a Granta Best of Young British novelist. He has written five novels, 'Other Lulus', 'Kitchen Venom' (Winner of the Somerset Maughn Award), 'Pleasured', the Booker-longlisted 'The Mulberry Empire' and 'The Fit', as well as a collection of short stories, 'The Bedroom of the Mister's House'. He lives in South London.