Nightrunners of Bengal
First edition
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| Author | John Masters |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
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Publication date
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December 1951 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 381 pp |
| OCLC | 2067032 |
Nightrunners of Bengal is the title of the first novel by John Masters. It is a work of historical fiction set against the background of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It was published in 1951 in the United Kingdom by Michael Joseph, London, and in the United States (also 1951) by the Viking Press, New York.
The novel at first attracted criticism from some reviewers, who objected to what they regarded as its imperialist viewpoint and graphic depiction of acts of savagery. However, it was made the American Literary Guild's Book of the Month on publication, and was widely sold.
It introduced the fictional Savage family, whose history of service in British India rather resembled that of Masters's ancestors.
The novel is set in the Presidency of Bengal at the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The central character, Captain Rodney Savage, is an officer in a Bengal Native Infantry regiment, stationed in the fictional city of Bhowani (which is in about the same location as the real city of Jhansi). He is restless with garrison life, but is devoted to his regiment and its sepoys (Indian soldiers).
In spite of his empathy with the sepoys, Savage does not realise that fear and resentment are driving them to intrigue with local rulers and other conspirators against the rule of the British East India Company. The complacent life of the British community in Bengal is shattered by the Rebellion. Most of the British officers of the Bhowani garrison and their families (including Savage's wife) are killed in the outbreak or are subsequently murdered.
Savage escapes the massacre along with his infant son and an English woman, Caroline Langford. The small group of refugees are sheltered by sympathetic Indian villagers. For some time Savage's sense of betrayal and loss drives him into insane hatred of all Indians and he kills an Indian officer who was his friend. Eventually the humanity and tolerance of the villagers, combined with his growing love for Caroline, enable him to recover and to reach the British forces gathering to suppress the rebellion (who are infected with their own hatred and desire for revenge). In a final clash, an emotionally torn Savage fights against his own former regiment. A charge by Indian cavalry who have remained loyal to the British turns the tide of battle.
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