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A study of a "lost wonder of the world", which was sparked off by the chance discovery in a Charing Cross bookshop of the dusty memoirs of a 19th century civil servant. It tells the remarkable story of a mighty hedge whch once spanned the Indian subcontinent, and was a bizarre monument to, and symbol of, the British Raj in India. "A customs barrier 2,300 miles long...manned by 12,000 men, and would have stretched from London to Constantinople, yet few historians mention it and most of us have never heard of it. Can anything be more astonishing?" Jan Morris
About the author
Roy Moxham is the author of Tea - Addiction Exploitation and Empire (2003), The Great Hedge of India (2001) and The Freelander (1990). Born and brought up in Evesham, Worcestershire, he went out to Africa in 1961 as a tea planter in Nyasaland, later Malawi. He spent 13 years in Eastern Africa before returning to London to set up a gallery of African art.
Subsequently, Roy Moxham qualified as a book and paper conservator. After working at Canterbury Cathedral Archives he became Senior Conservator of the University of London Library. Following retirement in 2005 he devotes his energies to writing and giving talks. He spends half his time in London and the other half travelling, principally in India.
Reviews:
The Great Hedge of India
'Both scholarly and funny - a rare combination. It surprised me and I hugely enjoyed it.' Eric Newby
'Moxham has written a parable at once light-handed and melancholy about the cruelty and folly of Empire.' Sunil Khilnani, Financial Times
Tea - Addiction, Exploitation and Empire
'A very well-written book and enlightening on all aspects of the desirable shrub.' Financial Times
'A masterful historical study.' Good Book Guide
Summary
The bestselling account of the author's quest for a lost wonder of the world, The Great Hedge of India.
Foreword
The bestselling account of the author's quest for a lost wonder of the world, The Great Hedge of India.
Additional text
Marvellous....Moxham sets out to find the remnants of this qunitessentially English folly, writing an affectionate and scholarly narrative'.
