The perspective adopted by the author in this very well-researched book is indicated by its subtitle. The word “conquest” does not feature in it. Nor does the conquest of India by the British feature prominently in the narrative. Yet the fact of the matter is that the British were in India because they conquered India through a series of very violent wars. And they maintained their position of dominance in India through violence and force. The lives of privilege and luxury that most Britons in India enjoyed — the substance of Gilmour’s book — were possible because they were conquerors