John Masters (1)Reseñas

"Bugles and a Tiger: A Volume of Autobiography" is a captivating memoir by John Masters, a British officer and writer. Published in 1956, the book offers a firsthand account of Masters' experiences serving in the Indian Army during the early 20th century.

The memoir begins with Masters' arrival in India as a young officer in the 1920s. He vividly describes the sights, sounds, and challenges of life in the Indian Army, immersing readers in the unique cultural and military milieu of the time. The title "Bugles and a Tiger" refers to the bugle calls that marked the daily routines of military life and the tiger, symbolizing the wild and untamed nature of India.

Masters shares captivating stories of his adventures, from leading expeditions in the rugged Northwest Frontier to navigating the complex social dynamics within the ranks of the British Army. He reflects on the camaraderie among the soldiers, the colonial attitudes prevalent at the time, and the conflicts faced by both the officers and the enlisted men.

The book delves into the challenges of maintaining peace in a diverse and volatile region, as well as the British military's efforts to quell uprisings and maintain control. Masters provides insights into the complexities of the British Raj, shedding light on the interactions between the British and the Indian population, the tensions between different ethnic and religious groups, and the shifting political landscape.

Beyond the military aspects, "Bugles and a Tiger" is also a personal account of Masters' growth and development as an individual. He reflects on the impact of his experiences on his character, values, and worldview. The memoir touches on themes of honor, duty, sacrifice, and the personal toll of military service.

Masters' writing style is engaging and evocative, painting a vivid picture of the landscapes, people, and events he encountered during his time in the Indian Army. His love for India and its people shines through, as does his appreciation for the unique blend of cultures and traditions.

"Bugles and a Tiger" is not only a memoir but also a valuable historical document that provides insights into the British colonial era in India. Masters' personal anecdotes and observations offer readers a deeper understanding of the complexities of the time and the human experiences of those involved.

I read this about 60 years ago I suppose, and enjoyed it very much - It gave one a vivid picture of India and of the troubles around Partition, was exciting and I liked the idea of telling the story through the eyes of four different people. Sadly however the narrators are either European or Anglo Indian. I won't re-read the book as I fear I would find it very dated in its attitude the people of India, but I'll keep it in my library, unlike other India novels by the same author

William Savage, an area official in the East India Company discovers a mass grave. When his superiors show little interest he decides to hunt down and infiltrate the murderers. Part boys-own-adventure channelling Lawrentian-like mystical experiences, William’s story brings a version of 1820’s India to life. A country that tolerated the act of Suttee & the putting to death of some prisoners by reluctant trampling elephant.

Apparently over 1 million travellers were murdered by Thuggee followers, who raised the act of befriending and then mugging into a quasi-religious experience.

A fascinating story, but I couldn’t quite believe the characters of William & his incredibly understanding wife, and this wasn’t a page-turner for me.

This was Masters first novel and is a work of historical fiction. Its subject is the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Masters was a regular officer in the Indian Army and served from 1939 to 1946. His family had a long tradition in the Indian army and so he was steeped in the culture of British rule under the Raj, but his setting for the novel is ninety years earlier when the country was controlled by the East India Company. He is probably at his best in describing the life of an officer in the army, but this first novel combines this with an adventure story and a full scale battle with much brutal action. It is quite well written, but in some places it feels a little clunky, there is a lot going on and sometimes I feel it doesn't quite hang together..

The central character is Captain Rodney Savage of the Bengal native Infantry. He has a good working relationship with the sepoys (Indian native army regulars) whom he has grown to appreciate. An English female visitor to the garrison at Bhowani Junction; Caroline Langford, becomes suspicious of possible plots against the ruling British elite. Savage is starting to feel that the opportunity to make his mark in the Company's service is passing him by and he takes an interest in Carolines concerns. The nearby all Indian town of Kishanpur is rocked by the assassination of the Rajah and Savage carries out his own investigation into the affairs of the Rani. He does not find out enough information to stop an uprising of the sepoys in Bhowani and just about escapes from a massacre of the white ruling class. His injuries lead to temporary insanity as Caroline attempts to hide him in the forest, he insists on going to Kishanpur, but they are imprisoned by the Rani. They learn more details of the mutiny, escape from prison and with the help of a loyal sepoy hide out in a small village. There follows an attempt to reach the British garrison at Gondwara to warn the British contingent of another sepoy mutiny.

There is a good opening sequence to the novel when Savage and Caroline witness a guru in Bhowani holding an audience in the centre of town and appearing to summon a murder of crows. He issues a cryptic warning of coming troubles and this gives the novel an edgy start that contrasts with the subsequent description of daily life amongst the British contingent in the cantonment. The expats lead an insular life in an endless round of socialising based on British traditions. The club house with its bar is where most come to gossip and to uphold the class divisions in their own society. The majority have a lifestyle supported by and endless supply of Indian servants that could not be achieved back home and they have become for the most part pampered and indolent in a climate that is totally unsuitable to them. John Masters describes their lifestyle with real firsthand knowledge, but I get the impression that it is more like the lifestyle of the British Raj in the 1930's than 1870 under the East India Company. Savage takes a more benevolent view of the natives than most and has an understanding and acceptance of their society. When he suffers his period of insanity he becomes more like the racist native hating ogre that one feels was more prevalent amongst the British ex pats at the time.

Caroline Langford says at some point in the novel:

“There are not two standards for us, for the English—only one. We must keep our standard, or go home. We must not, as we do now, permit untouchability and forbid suttee, abolish tyranny in one state and leave it in another, have our right hand Eastern and our left hand Western. It is not that India is wicked; she has her own ways. If we rule we must rule as Indians—or we must make the Indians English. But we do neither; we are like Mr. Dellamain. We have one foot in a whirlpool. Sometimes I am sure we will be dragged into another and drowned. God will punish us for compromising. As He will punish me.”

Masters has set his story back in 1857 when the East Indian Trading Company was looking to exploit the country for all that it was worth and they brought with them plenty of Christians who were looking to convert the natives, by any means possible to save their souls. I think Masters could be accused of giving some of his characters the more enlightened views that would be more appropriate to a later period of British rule than at the time of the mutiny. There is plenty of violence in the book and atrocities are committed by both sides in the struggle, Masters does not shy away from describing them.

The novels descriptions of India, its village and town life and the life of the expats tucked away in the cantonment rings true for me. It is told from a British imperialist perspective, but that is entirely suited to the events the novel describes and the characters that Masters has chosen for his story. He has created some interesting characters even if the story slips away from him at times, the novel has some good moments and so 3.5 stars.½

John Masters may not have been a great novelist, but his three volumes of Autobiography are a treasure to the English-Speaking World. He illuminates the world of the Imperial Indian army of the Inter-war and WWII period. As well it reveals a good deal of the workings of the armies of the English speaking world. Tangentially these books are also useful for the student of the dying days of that Empire. There were good things done by the British in India as well as evil ones and John Masters shows off some of them. If you want to know what the Brits were doing for India as well as to it, I suggest you read this and the other two volumes of this autobiography.

Spy story in India

Early novel about Indian independence and the partition of the sub-continent into two nations, India and Pakistan. Novel describes the horror of the accompanying massacres between Hindu and Muslim, and the withdrawal of the British from India.

Novel of the Indian Mutiny. Masters was an old India hand, and an officer in the Indian Army. He served with distinction during WW2 before becoming a novelist. His novels were well-received being authentic and exciting. This is a novel of escape, pursuit, adventure and romance in India in the 19th Century.

A good illustrated biography of Casanova needing an update given new findings and research.

An Indian-born, but British, ex-soldier and novelist demonstrates how he beat the Indian quota to get into the United States, in the 1950's. What I found most interesting in the light of the period in which it was written, was the amount of entitlement that Masters felt himself heir to. What he really wanted was to sell some novels to Hollywood, and to that degree, he was successful.½

I have never read any military history books that dealt with the minutiae of forming an attack, moving troops, dealing with enemy surprises, etc. Stuff like that would bore me to tears. This book is a revelation because with clear, concise writing, Masters draws you in gradually so you really care what happens to him and his Gurkhas. This is the second part of his three part autobiography, and deals with his wartime experiences in Iraq, Iran and Burma. It does not gloss over difficult subjects like friendly fire, lack of support from the supply lines or cowardice in the regiment. He gives his opinions of the leaders in the Burma campaign and why he thinks some were more use than others.

I couldn't finish it, I was bored stiff½

Masters was a professional soldier of the Indian Army until 1947 and has novels such as Bohawni Junction to his credit. His three Memoir volumes are good reading and this volume (#2) deals with his time in the XIV Army on the Burma front. He was a Chindit and knew a great many people due to his professional connections. As a popular writer of fiction, he doesn't skimp on the emotional side of the war. A must read for a collector of British stuff about WWII. Read it three times.

למעשה תמצית של האוטוביוגרפיה של ההרפתקן הגדול בתוספת מידה קטנה ונכונה של הערכה בלתי תלויה ושיקול דעת המחבר. כתוב בחן רב.

John Master who has done better straight historical fiction set in British India (Nigtrunners of Bengal) tries to do for Gibraltar what Michener did for Hawaii etc. --a fictionalized history from prehistoric times to the present. Some individual scenes are ok but overall it is so-so.

The plot of Bhowani Junction is told from three separate points of view with the narrative voices of Victoria Jones (the product of a mixed marriage of English and Indian parents); her one-time lover, Patrick Taylor, also from a mixed family and the main character, Rodney Savage, a colonel in the British Army in India. Their individual narratives involve the situation in India during the twilight of the Raj and the anticipation of the eventual turn-over of power from the British to the indiginous population. Also involved is the love story of first Victoria and Patrick, then Victoria and her Sikh co-worker, and finally Victoria and Savage.
Strong points to Masters for his spot-on description of the racial and social divides of India, the plight of the racially mixed Anglo-Indians and the ever-present challenges of the Indian climate. A side plot involves an Indian terrorist and a plot to blow up a railway tunnel but most of the novel centers on Victoria and her attempts to come to terms with herself, her sexuality and her racial identity.

In this follow on to Bugles and a Tiger John Masters puts his professional skills to the test in the crucible of war. The short first part takes Masters and his beloved 2/4th Ghurkas to Iraq and Syria. After that forgotten campaign he is sent back to India on a staff course covered by the second part of this memoir. The final and harrowing part finds him preparing a Chindit column to land behind Japanese lines in Burma, and to eventually lead it in combat. After 100 days behind lines only 119 men were fit to continue, 700 had been killed, and over 2000 declared medically unfit and had to be evacuated. His comment on command, leadership and his superiors make enlightening reading. His views on the suitability of both Wingate and Stillwell for high command are illuminating as being from one who experienced it at the sharp end.
After an all too brief leave he is called back to a senior staff position under a 'difficult' general and the final drive to Mandalay and peace. He finds out about peace almost by accident whilst walking in the Himalayas with his wife - another major thread to the story.
By the nature of its subject matter this is a more difficult book to read than Bugles and a Tiger but Masters' skill as a writer and insight makes it worth the effort.

A delight from cover to cover.
This and a more recent publication (Frontier Fighters by Walter Cummings) cover much of the same ground. Masters served with the Ghurkas from 1935, Cummings with the South Waziristan Scouts from 1917. Frontier soldiering did not change much over the two decades covered by the two books, and arguably has little changed to the present day.
Both authors were from English families with histories of long service in India. Cummings was a soldier and writes as a soldier, this is the book you want to read if you need to know about piqueting and patroling. Masters too was a soldier, but he writes as the novelist he later became. He gives colour ,warmth, humour and introspection between periods of fierce action. If you only read one of these books, and both are highly recommended, then it should be Bugles and a Tiger.

I wasn't too sure about this book at first, but it surprised me with its well-researched and sympathetic view of one of the world's greatest lovers. Masters brings to life a world we would never guess at or maybe understand. Casanova was a rogue (almost a criminal at times), generous, intelligent, a good writer, a commentator on his times, a historian, and an extremely interesting character. I found the book to be fascinating and the shocking conclusions that the author reaches left me breathless. Recommended.

The hippy trail in the seventeenth century.

Jason Savage is a farmer's son in Wiltshire in 1627. Named for the Argonaut story by the local vicar, he is a daydreamer and when his situation becomes intolerable, he leaves home to pursue a dream of going to Coromandel and finding the treasure on a map he bought with his entire savings. From 'big city' London he gets taken on as a seaman on a a merchant ship bound for India.

Arriving in Manairuppu, he finds local people and customs confusing, but continues his quest and eventually discovers his own 'golden fleece'.

Interesting look at the Indian Mutiny through the eyes of the Raj. The book starts in 1856, in the fictional cantonment of Bhowani in Bengal India.

The POV is Rodney Savage. He is a Captain of the 13th Rifles, Bengal Native Infantry. He is the leader of the Indian Sepoys, who make up the rank and file. He has spent years with them, and has respect and affection for them, though he believes in British superiority. His world is destroyed when he has to face that these same men want to kill him, and do kill other British.

Rodney muses on the narrow and repressed life they must lead as Victorians. He blames it on Albert, and longs for the easier (socially) days of his father and grandfather.

The book also brings up one of the secrets of the Raj, that those of middle and lower class were accorded 'Upper Class' status (grudgingly) in India because they were British and white. That group of people never wanted to go home, where they would return to their former lower-order life. In India they had servants, large houses, power and prestige.

The country is divided into different British zones, with some princely states (they are dependent on the British to survive). Savage visits the Rani of Kishanpur, after her husband is killed. He spends time in the princely state and interacts with Indians who are technically their own masters.

This book is 3rd book (Story Order) in the Savage Family series.

The majority of the book looks at life in the cantonment, how the various Brits interact with each other and with the Indians all around them as soldiers and servants. There are British men, women and children, a whole mini social structure.

Masters shows how they are beset by the little things, and miss or don't care about the important things. He also explores how the East India Company (which ran India), with remote businessmen make decisions that drive the Sepoys and their officers apart.

About 2/3 of the way through the mutiny happens and the pace picks up. There is very little of the aftermath in the book.

I thought the writing was a bit stiff, not sure if Masters was trying to be Victorian, or if it is because it is the first book in the series published.½

One night, Captain William Savage of the East India Company witnesses a murder. In seeking out the murderers, he finds his efforts frustrated, and soon comes to realize that a criminal conspiracy has been operating right under his nose. To stop the killings, he will have to infiltrate the group that goes by the name of The Deceivers.

That story is loosely based on the Thuggee (meaning deceivers) of India, who strangled and robbed travellers on the roads. Savage is something of an unlikely hero--he doesn't figure himself particularly brave or commanding--but when he discovers the crimes, he sees no choice but to make himself pass as an Indian and join a Thuggee band.

The Deceivers is a fairly straightforward suspense/adventure tale, where the upstanding protagonist finds the hero inside as he faces a terrible evil. The setting is well realized, and the foe portrayed in an interesting manner.

I must admit I didn't find Capt. Savage entirely compelling as a hero, in part because the threat wasn't always well defined. The physical threat, yes, but Deceivers puts equal weight on the spiritual/psychological threat Savage is under while pretending to be a Thug, without really making the life of a Thug sound as if it would be tempting to Savage. Instead it opts for some weak supernaturalism, and a somewhat vague struggle between Eastern and Western gods.

(One might also accuse Masters of some colonial revisionism, but I'd just urge any reader not to treat the novel as a serious portrayal of 19th Century India.)

Overall, with its interesting locale and heroic protagonist, The Deceivers makes for a pretty entertaining adventure story.

Adventure story set during the mutiny in India. Captures the time - and complexity of India very well. It is a fantastic backdrop to the story. The characters develop and grow as they experience the sorrow and tragedy of a great clash of cultures. Well worth reading again.

Excellent book on India, the Indian Army, Britain in India. One of the books I have read multiple times.

http://www.fireandsword.com/Reviews/nightrunners.html

I do love a good book by an old Indian army hand. John Masters was pretty well steeped in the Raj and he created a series of novels about Englishmen in India from the 1600s to 1947. In this case the hero is Rodney Savage (in Masters’ novels the Savages have a family tradition of serving in India). He finds himself, his family, and the army he loves caught up in the Great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. More aptly described as a war of independence, most of the Bengal army and many North Indian rulers joined in a bloody, but unsuccessful bid to oust the British from India.