A very Moghul drama
EMPIRE OF THE MOGHUL: BROTHERS AT WAR BY ALEX RUTHERFORD
Headline £18.99
by Verity Pugh
THE Moghul dynasty, which spanned the 16th to 18th centuries in South Asia, is in itself like a work of fiction. Its turbulent history is rich with tales of great emperors, passion, deceit and violence. Diana and Michael Preston (pen-name Alex Rutherford) convey all this with great panache. Brothers at War, the second instalment in this five-part series, draws you into a thrilling account of the second Moghul emperor’s journey to reclaim a kingdom bequeathed to him by his father, lost through his own irresponsibility.
Humayun is young when he inherits his father’s empire and his lack of maturity is apparent in his judgements. His leadership is questioned early on, when a plot by his brothers to overthrow him is uncovered. As the new emperor indulges in hedonistic pleasures, other rebels take their chance to attack and Humayun finds himself embarking on a journey with an ever-diminishing army to try to regain his empire. In the face of adversity, however, he never loses faith in his fate as the rightful ruler, though he is betrayed by those closest to him.
This book has everything: a flawed yet heroic leader, love, jealousy and treachery. It is a perfect summer read – fast-paced and completely absorbing. It’ll have you gripped from start to finish and left wondering where the hours went.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN BY SCOTT MURRAY & SIMON FARNABY
Yellow Jersey £12.99
By Timothy Barber
HOWEVER badly the worst-performing player does at the Open at St Andrews this weekend, they won’t come close to performing as badly as Maurice Flitcroft did in 1976. A crane driver from Barrow-in-Furness with virtually no experience of golf, he nevertheless managed to play in the qualifying round of the 1976 Open by spuriously declaring himself a professional. He carded a score of 49 over par – by a very very wide margin the worst round in the history of this or any other championship. Golf’s top brass were incensed, but Flitcroft became something of a folk hero.
This amusing account of his exploits revels in his heroic eccentricity, and stories of his rebellious National Service experiences and time spent as a slapstick high diver (again, without any qualifications for the job) are as entertaining as his golf adventures. But it’s hard to avoid the view – though the book skates over this – that whatever he achieved in the name of mischief and subversion, Flitcroft’s life was more tragedy than
triumph.