A Very British Disaster

In A Very British Disaster, S. J. Butler brings to life the bumbling leaders of Britain’s ­ first invasion of Afghanistan in 1839 and its deadly ending three years later. She also celebrates the courageous hostages of the Afghan hero, Akbar Khan, among them the stoic and forthright Lady Sale, the pragmatic, self-deprecating Captain Mackenzie, and the well-meaning but dithering General Elphinstone. Interlaced with the story of the hostages are the combative goings-on in Calcutta between the waspish and sharp-witted Emily Eden, her silly sister, Hetty, and their exalted brother George, the Governor-General of India and the instigator of the catastrophe.

Amongst the accounts of great loss, based on real events, S. J. Butler weaves in humour and creates an enthralling narrative of ordinary people who find themselves in an extraordinary situation. A Very British Disaster is a story of folly, incompetence and arrogance, but also of endurance, desperate hope and survival against impossible odds.