The Setting Sun: A Memoir of Empire and Family Secrets

Moore-Gilbert, Bart J.. 2014. The Setting Sun: A Memoir of Empire and Family Secrets. London: Verso. ISBN 9781781682685 [Book]

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Abstract or Description

When a letter from an Indian historian arrives out of the blue and informs leading academic Bart Moore-Gilbert that his beloved deceased father, a member of the Indian Police before Independence, took part in the abuse of civilians, his world is shaken as cherished childhood memories are challenged. He sets out in search of the truth—discovering much about the end of empire, the state of India today, and whether his father, as one of the many characters on his quest claims, really was a terrorist.

Crisscrossing western India, and following leads from bustling Mumbai to remote rural locations, Moore-Gilbert pieces together the truth, discovering that the story of his father's life links today's politics with the past's, colonial India with its modern incarnation, terrorism across the ages, and father with son. The Setting Sun is at once an extraordinary meditative voyage across India, a story of the dying days of an empire, and a gripping family history.

Item Type:

Book

Keywords:

India, Colonialism, Indian Police, Terrorism, Police misconduct, British occupation of India

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

English and Comparative Literature

Date:

April 2014

Item ID:

25374

Date Deposited:

19 Dec 2018 13:20

Last Modified:

19 Dec 2018 13:21

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/25374

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