Böcker av Peter Popham

An epic thriller set in India during the last days of the British Raj.India Be Damned traces the fate of a group of Indians and foreigners who are ripped from their moorings by the first murderous months of independence, their long-held certainties shattered.Vandana Singh shook a cigarette from her bag, leaned into the candle flame and exhaled a long plume of smoke. "Don't be silly, Fred," she said. "Where does 'silly' come into it?" "Fred dear, you're British. The Raj is dying on its feet." "Why is this a problem?" "You people are in power," she explained gently. "Outrageous though it seems, you've been in power here for centuries. What do you imagine your life here would be like if you weren't?" He furrowed his brow. Of course the British were leaving. Their departure was long overdue. But life - his own charmed life - would go on much as before, wouldn't it?As the independence deadline approaches, Britain plays a wild card, appointing world-famous war hero Lord Mountbatten the last Viceroy. "Dickie" and his socialist wife Edwina imbue the end of empire with their legendary panache, and for foreign journalists and freedom fighters alike it's a dazzling show. But inscrutably, Mountbatten decides to rush the process to its conclusion - damning India to a baptism of blood.India Be Damned is a gripping tale of love and paranoia, hope and despair, steeped in the flavours of the subcontinent. Peter Popham's debut novel deftly draws the reader on, ratcheting the tension right up to the shocking conclusion.

Peter Popham's major new biography of Aung San Suu Kyi draws upon previously untapped testimony and fresh revelations to tell the story of a woman whose bravery and determination have captivated people around the globe. Celebrated today as one of the world's greatest exponents of non-violent political defiance since Mahatma Gandhi, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize only four years after her first experience of politics.In April 1988, Suu Kyi returned from Britain to Burma to nurse her sick mother but, within six months, found herself the unchallenged leader of the largest popular revolt in the history of Burma. When the party she co-founded won a landslide victory in Burma's first free elections for thirty years, she was already under house arrest and barred from taking office by the military junta.Since then, 'The Lady' has set about transforming her country ethically as well as politically, displaying dazzling courage in the process. Under house arrest for 15 of the previous 20 years, she has come close to being killed by her political enemies and her commitment to peaceful revolution has come at extreme personal cost.In November 2010, after fraudulent elections in which she played no part, Suu Kyi was again freed. She was greeted by ecstatic crowds but only time will tell what role this remarkable woman will have in the future of her country.

We are deeply indebted to Peter Popham for such a superb account' - Archbishop Desmond Tutu'Sensitive and moving' - Sunday Times'Beautifully written and compelling in every aspect' - Joanna Lumley'Warm and objective...will not be bettered for a long time' - Independent on Sunday