Forms of Empire is Alive!

I'm thrilled to be able to say, after a very long wait, that my book, Forms of Empire: The Poetics of Victorian Sovereignty, now actually exists -- at least in England. In the US it will be available for shipping on December 17th. Hooray!

If you have a spare hundred dollars (it's actually $90), you can become the proud owner of a copy -- it can be purchased on Amazon or, until January 8th, you can get it at half price, $45, at oup.com. It's absurdly expensive, but I am excited about its arrival and hope as many people as possible might be able to read it. [I will send you the PDF of the proofs, for example, if you email me!]

Anyway: to celebrate, I'll be posting some images and excerpts from the book here on the blog. Think of it as a kind of teaser campaign -- to stoke the fires, you know, for the Christmas rush. What follows is a telegram I read in the introduction of the book, sent to the East India Office from the middle of England's brutal counterinsurgency campaign in India, 1857-1858. The telegram is from July 12, 1857, and states that "Mutiny is all but universal." It was correct. Full text below the image.

​I'd be delighted to respond to comments and questions about the book; you can reach me at @nathankhensley or nathan.hensley@georgetown.edu. Thanks for checking it out. 

Text of message:

Bombay 13.  Mutiny all but universal in Bengal and Northwest.  Nearly 30000 men disappeared from army within last few weeks.  Town Delhi still in mutineers possession but all heights in our hand punjab quiet.  Steamer Erin totaly wrecked.  No lives lost.  General Govern and Governors at their seats. 

--Telegram to East India Office, July 12, 1857 (British Library L/Mil/5/514, page 3)

Read more here.