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The Patient Assassin

A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj

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The Patient Assassin

By: Anita Anand
Narrated by: Anita Anand
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About this listen

 WINNER OF THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZE 2020

'Reads like a thriller…colourful, detailed and meticulously researched' Sunday Times
‘Gripping from start to finish' Peter Frankopan, bestselling author of The Silk Roads
Anita Anand tells the remarkable story of one Indian's twenty-year quest for revenge, taking him around the world in search of those he held responsible for the Amritsar massacre of 1919, which cost the lives of hundreds.

When Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, ordered Brigadier General Reginald Dyer to Amritsar, he wanted him to bring the troublesome city to heel. What happened next shocked the world. An unauthorised political gathering in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in April 1919 became the focal point for Sir Michael's law enforcers. Dyer marched his soldiers into the walled garden, filled with thousands of unarmed men, women and children, blocking the only exit. Then, without issuing any order to disperse, he instructed his men to open fire, stopping only when 1650 bullets had been fired. Not a single shot was fired in retaliation.

According to legend, a young, low-caste orphan, Udham Singh, was injured in the attack, and remained in the Bagh, surrounded by the dead and dying until he was able to move the next morning. Then, he supposedly picked up a handful of blood-soaked earth, smeared it across his forehead and vowed to kill the men responsible, no matter how long it took.

The truth, as the author has discovered, is more complex but no less dramatic. She traced Singh's journey through Africa, the United States and across Europe before, in March 1940, he finally arrived in front of O'Dwyer in a London hall ready to shoot him down.

The Patient Assassin shines a devastating light on one of the Raj's most horrific event, and reveals some astonishing new insights into what really happened.©2019 Anita Anand (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Politics & Government World Colonial Period Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Hinduism Imperialism United States Solider Assassin

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Critic reviews

'Reads like something from a thriller…colourful, detailed and meticulously researched account...the book really shines in evoking the fevered atmosphere of India in the late 1910s and early 1920s.' (Dominic Sandbrook)
'Anita Anand’s remarkable and brilliantly researched non-fiction thriller, The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj, [is] well-written, contains new research and breaks much fresh ground... Anita Anand focuses on one extraordinary story that had never been properly told before. Through some remarkable research in archives around the world, Anand has reconstructed much of [Udham Singh's] life.' (William Dalrymple)
‘Gripping from start to finish. Anita Anand is brilliant guide who brings a series of extraordinary – and important – stories to life in this remarkable history.’ (Peter Frankopan)
'An excellent and important book' (Mishal Husain)
'Briskly plotted, scrupulously even-handed and altogether riveting' (John Preston)
'A jaw-dropping true story...Udham Singh [survived] the massacre [at Amritsar] and swore vengeance. Like a real-life Tom Ripley, he assumed multiple identities and bided his time...and shot the former governor of the Punjab through the heart at point-blank range. Rough justice; brutally poetic.' (Richard Madeley)
‘An astonishing story, brilliantly told.’ (Dan Snow)
'Fabulous book' (Jeremy Vine)
All stars
Most relevant
True life is fascinating, the horrors of colonial rule exposed once more but does an eye for an eye however just change anything ?

Absorbing

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Anita Anand's masterful telling of this remarkable story gripped me from the start. Meticulously researched and utterly fascinating. Spanning three continents and more than twenty years, it tells the story of one man's pursuit of revenge for the appalling massacre in Amritsar. Perfectly narrated by the author.

Brilliant

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A good biography well read by the author. Includes plenty of relevant background .. but when author lacks information about her character she resorts to such phrases as "must have felt/ must have been" - which is irritating

Good biography and history

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Never a dull moment in this engaging and original history. The author's own narration perfectly enhances an excellently-written book.

Never a dull moment

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A wonderfully written and read novel. I had never heard of Singh or his promise to avenge the British massacre of innocents at Amritsar. This is an essential read for all students of history that they might understand the cruelty and tyranny of colonisation regardless of its perpetrators.

Almost too sad to bear.

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A tragic, yet somehow inspiring tale of one man's quest against the odds to exact revenge

A very detailed, well told story

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Anita Anand tells the story of Udham Singh who assassinated Ex governor of the Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer in revenge for the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, of hundreds of innocent Indian men, women and children in 1919. My knowledge of the Raj until now has been very limited, and I am shocked at how much cruelty and disregard for human life the British displayed. The Institutional racism was on the part of the perpetrators was shameless. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Raj.

Well written and engaging

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Freedom fighter assassin: depends on your point ov view. The story of Udham Singh who swore revenge on The British Empire after witnessing the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. His life's mission: to eradicate the then Governor of Punjab, Sir Michael O'Dwyer. fascinating expose of the man and the mystery. 21 years later in 1940 at The Caxton Hall in London, he would open fire strike a blow for Indian Independence. 80 years later thd Indian Government have still not built his memorial.

The Legend of Mohammed Singh Azaad

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The most memorable moments are the massacre at Amritsar and the assassination in London. If you are interested in the story of the Raj this is a good listen. Very well narrated by Anita Anand.

Excellent story from the Raj.

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this is an interesting story, well told and worth a listen about a subject that isn't often covered in the uk

Really interesting story

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