{"product_id":"the-patient-assassin-9781471174247","title":"The Patient Assassin","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Reads like something from a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e…\u003cb\u003ecolourful, detailed and meticulously researched' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Gripping from start to finish' Peter Frankopan, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Silk Roads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Reads \u003cb\u003elike something from a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e…\u003cb\u003ecolourful, detailed and meticulously researched\u003c\/b\u003e account...the book really shines in evoking the fevered atmosphere of India in the late 1910s and early 1920s.' -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e'Anita Anand’s \u003cb\u003eremarkable and brilliantly researched non-fiction thriller\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj, \u003c\/i\u003e[is] well-written, contains new research and breaks much fresh ground... Anita Anand focuses on one \u003cb\u003eextraordinary story\u003c\/b\u003e that had never been properly told before. Through some \u003cb\u003eremarkable research\u003c\/b\u003e in archives around the world, Anand has reconstructed much of [Udham Singh's] life.' -- William Dalrymple * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eGripping from start to finish\u003c\/b\u003e. Anita Anand is \u003cb\u003ebrilliant guide\u003c\/b\u003e who brings a series of extraordinary – and important – stories to life in this \u003cb\u003eremarkable history\u003c\/b\u003e.’ -- Peter Frankopan * Author of The Silk Roads *\u003cbr\u003e'For those looking to question empire in the present day, it is a book that provides many answers. But we are also confident that \u003ci\u003eThe Patient Assassin\u003c\/i\u003e is something more – a \u003cb\u003egenuine historical classic\u003c\/b\u003e that will be read for decades to come.’  -- Rana Mitter * Chair of judges, PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize *\u003cbr\u003e'An \u003cb\u003eexcellent and important\u003c\/b\u003e book' -- Mishal Husain * BBC Radio 4 Today Programme *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003ejaw-dropping\u003c\/b\u003e 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; \u003cb\u003ebrutally poetic\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Richard Madeley * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e'Briskly plotted, scrupulously even-handed and \u003cb\u003ealtogether riveting\u003c\/b\u003e' -- John Preston * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘An astonishing story, brilliantly told.’\u003c\/b\u003e -- Dan Snow\u003cbr\u003e'Anand has turned her \u003cb\u003emeticulous investigative journalism\u003c\/b\u003e to tracking the life of the formerly shadowy Singh... [she] lures us into an \u003cb\u003eirresistible narrative\u003c\/b\u003e. It is an \u003cb\u003eengaging\u003c\/b\u003e story that reads satisfyingly more like a shadow world \u003cb\u003econspiracy thriller\u003c\/b\u003e than the exhaustively researched piece of reconstruction that it is.' -- Rachel Holmes * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eFabulous book\u003c\/b\u003e' -- Jeremy Vine\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003edramatic, fast-paced narrative\u003c\/b\u003e ... Anand does a \u003cb\u003emeticulous\u003c\/b\u003e and determined job in tracing [Udham Singh's] steps and debunking more than one theory about him. Anand produces an \u003cb\u003eengaging\u003c\/b\u003e account of the times and of this unlikely hero. And though gripped by her subject, she does not shirk away from his human failings.' -- Manu Pillai * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e'Combines interesting details with\u003cb\u003e forensic research\u003c\/b\u003e and an eye for colour making this little told story into a \u003cb\u003epage turner\u003c\/b\u003e' -- Mihir Bose * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003egreat and riveting story\u003c\/b\u003e…full of remarkable twists and mysteries.' * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003erevealing \u003c\/b\u003elook at the brutality and oppression of British rule, and how it seeded the desire for retribution in the hearts of so many Indians….Anand does a stellar job of sketching Singh’s trajectory from orphanage to hangman’s noose, and from obscurity into the pantheon of Indian heroes…\u003cb\u003eCompelling, vivid prose\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Yudhijit Bhattacharjee * New York Times Book Review *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eDeeply researched\u003c\/b\u003e ... What makes this book so \u003cb\u003eintense\u003c\/b\u003e is that it is almost as if the author knows the way...by heart and takes the reader along.' -- Nirupama Dutt * Hindustan Times *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003efascinating\u003c\/b\u003e book' -- Ronan McGreevy * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eImmaculately researched and brutally honest\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Patient Assassin\u003c\/i\u003e is like a jigsaw puzzle...In telling Udham’s story, Anand throws new light on the bloodiest chapter in the history of British rule in India.' -- Rakshanda Jalil * India Today *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eFascinating\u003c\/b\u003e stuff!' -- Iain Dale * LBC *\u003cbr\u003e'An involving account of a strange and obsessive life' -- Ian Jack * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e'Anita Anand uses the Amritsar Massacre as the backdrop to tell the \u003cb\u003efascinating\u003c\/b\u003e story of Udham Singh, a low-caste Punjabi orphan who spent the next 21 years planning to avenge those who were killed at Amritsar by assassinating British officials he believed were responsible.' -- Francis P. Sempa * South China Morning Post *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003egripping, multi-faceted tale\u003c\/b\u003e of India in the twilight years of the British Empire, about Udham Singh, who bided his time for twenty years until he could exact revenge for the 1919 British massacre of Indians in a public garden…Anand diligently follows the circuitous trail of Singh’s life, piecing together his various aliases, addresses, jobs and international travels…This \u003cb\u003evivid and meticulously researched\u003c\/b\u003e account will have readers riveted.' * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e'A carefully reconstructed story of political murder that began to unfold a century ago… Anand painstakingly follows [Udham] Singh's long path from the killing fields of India to the Houses of Parliament and that climactic moment… \u003cb\u003etelling, and very well done\u003c\/b\u003e.' * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e'A rags-to-riches story of a flamboyant man who moved around the world juggling multiple identities, dodging police and intelligence agencies everywhere. It evokes the quiet suspense of a masterful spy novel. A \u003cb\u003egripping and engaging\u003c\/b\u003e book...every chapter is unexpected and suspenseful.' -- Saudamini Jain * Hindustan Times *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003erevealing\u003c\/b\u003e look at the brutalityand oppression of British rule...Anand does \u003cb\u003ea stellar job\u003c\/b\u003e of sketching Singh's trajectory from orphanage to hangman's noose.' -- Yudhijit Bhattacharjee * Deccan Herald *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408691372375,"sku":"9781471174247","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781471174247.jpg?v=1730503832","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-patient-assassin-9781471174247","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}