{"title":"Roderick Matthews","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoderick Matthews\u003c\/strong\u003e delves into the complex intersections of history and conflict, offering readers thought-provoking analyses of pivotal moments and enduring struggles. His works explore themes of peace, poverty, and betrayal with nuanced insight, illuminating the socio-political forces that shape nations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough meticulous research and a keen narrative style, Matthews invites readers to reconsider established historical perspectives. His books are essential for those interested in understanding the deeper dynamics of military history and the human experiences embedded within.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"peace-poverty-and-betrayal-by-roderick-matthews-9781787383852","title":"Peace, Poverty and Betrayal","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow can we explain Britain's long rule in India beyond the clichés of 'imperial' versus 'nationalist' interpretations? In this new history, Roderick Matthews tells a more nuanced story of 'oblige and rule', the foundation of common purpose between colonisers and powerful Indians.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeace, Poverty and Betrayal\u003c\/i\u003e argues that this was more a state of being than a system: British policy was never clear or consistent; the East India Company went from a manifestly incompetent ruler to, arguably, the world's first liberal government; and among British and Indians alike there were both progressive and conservative attitudes to colonisation. Matthews skilfully illustrates that this very diversity and ambiguity of British-Indian relations also drove the social changes that led to the struggle for independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSkewering the simplistic binaries that often dominate the debate, \u003ci\u003ePeace, Poverty and Betrayal\u003c\/i\u003e is a fresh and elegant history of British India.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMr. Matthews's discerning book isn't a revisionist defence of the Raj. It is, instead, a warning against the glib postcolonial assumption 'that because British rule is viewed as bad, therefore anything else would have been better.'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis brave and intelligent book will satisfy neither empire loyalists nor today's rabid nationalists, which is all the more reason to applaud its author and relish the clarity of his analysis.\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthews explores with great delicacy and intelligence... how Britain became itself, at home, more liberal and democratic, while, as an imperial power, becoming the opposite.\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Catholic Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthews demonstrates an encyclopaedic knowledge of British rule in India [and] frequently challenges conventional views of events and personalities who shaped British India.\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAsian Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radical reappraisal of British rule in India that challenges current thinking on colonialism in the subcontinent... This is a thoughtful, thought-provoking book with enough to keep the reader travelling through four centuries of our former relationship with India.\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJournal of Asian Affairs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47607357800684,"sku":"9781787383852","price":57.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/f4c3b16fc5dbd5fc1fd657966f0c1be1.jpg?v=1778190180"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/roderick-matthews.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}