Return of a King is an account of Britain's invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 1839–42, known as the First Anglo–Afghan War, which was fought between British East India Company and Afghanistan. The conflict resulted in the near complete destruction of an entire British army, with deaths of 4,500 British and Indian soldiers, plus 12,000 of their camp followers. It was one of the worst defeats Britain would experience during the Victorian colonial era, and considered by many Afghans to be one of the greatest triumphs in their national history. It was the first major conflict of The Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Asia between the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire.
Response
The book on publication has received very positive reviews. Jason Burke's review in The Observer mentions, "Return of a King is perhaps the most directly relevant to the present day. The author spent time in both Afghanistan and Pakistan during its research and elaborates on the obvious parallels with the current situation," Barnaby Rogerson in The Independent says "Return of a King is not just an animated and highly literate retelling of a chapter of early 19th-century British military history, but also a determined attempt to reach out and influence the politicians and policy-makers of our modern world. The parallels between the disastrous British occupation of Afghanistan in 1839, and the post 9/11 occupation of Afghanistan by the US and some of its NATO allies, are so insistent that they begin to sound like the chorus of a Greek tragedy." Rupert Edis in the Sunday Telegraph said "As well as going deep into dangerous parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to research his book, Dalrymple has recovered some remarkable new Afghan and Indian sources. We see beyond the stereotypes of treacherous Afghan 'fanatics' to the complex and remarkable individuals some of them were. Like Dalrymple's heartbreaking, extraordinary White Mughals, this book is as taut and richly embroidered as a great novel... A masterpiece of nuanced writing and research, and a thrilling account of a watershed Victorian conflict." Max Hastings in the Sunday Times described the book as "Dazzling... Dalrymple is a master storyteller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers... Almost every page of Dalrymple’s splendid narrative echoes with latter-day reverberations."
