'The Last Englishmen' review: Baker recreates forgotten worlds of the Raj

Deborah Baker's awesome micro-research over a variety of subjects leaves you with much to think about

The end of Empire has provided rich fodder for historians and novelists and everyone in between. Given the extraordinary complexity of this era, most writers choose to narrow the focus of their work. In The Last Englishmen: Love, War and the End of Empire, Deborah Baker has been intrepid, her canvas encompassing overlapping worlds — India on the cusp of independence, Britain the waning world power, and the political, social and cultural dynamics of these tectonic times.  

The book covers several parallel stories, each fascinating and demanding a challenging standard of research. The storyline loosely centres on the brothers of two