The Imitation Englishman by Devki Pande [Hardcover]

A gripping historical fiction novel set during World War I, The Imitation Englishman is a powerful story of revolution, friendship, colonialism, racism, and the struggle for Indian independence.

It is 1916, and the First World War is raging across Europe. Madhusudan Chandra Joshi is a young Indian clerk working at the District Courts when he travels to Heidelberg to study law. There, a chance encounter with the mysterious revolutionary Amir Farooqui changes the course of his life.

Drawn into the secretive Hindu–German Conspiracy, a revolutionary gun-running plot organised by Indians living in exile, Madhusudan finds himself caught up in a dangerous international struggle for Indian independence from British colonial rule. As the conspiracy unfolds across India, Europe and America, the outbreak of war makes it increasingly impossible for Madhusudan and Amir to remain in Heidelberg.

Madhusudan travels to London, determined to continue his legal studies, while Amir heads to San Francisco in search of fellow revolutionaries. But London exposes Madhusudan to the harsh realities of British colonialism, racism and inequality. Far from home and caught between his ambitions and his growing political awareness, he must confront truths he can no longer escape.

The Imitation Englishman is an evocative work of historical fiction about World War I, Indian revolutionaries, anti-colonial resistance and the global struggle for freedom. Moving between India, Germany, Britain and America, it brings together political intrigue, adventure, friendship and the personal cost of choosing a cause.

Fierce, intelligent and clear-sighted, The Imitation Englishman is a compelling debut about an unequal world and the people who dare to challenge it. Above all, it is a story of adventure, friendship, revolution and self-discovery and of what happens when setting out on a journey forces you to discover who you really are.