Midnight's Descendants

John Keay is the author of four acclaimed histories: 'The Honourable Company', 'Last Post', about the imperial disengagement of the Far East; the two-volume 'Explorers of the Western Himalayas' and 'India: A History'. His books on India include 'India Discovered', 'Into India' and 'The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named'. John Keay is married with four children, lives in Scotland and is co-editor with Julia Keay of the 'Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland'.

'Keay's excellent new book on the modern history of South Asia plunges the reader head first into some wildly swirling currents ... His work is descriptive, panoramic, a large-scale survey of titanic struggles and the extraordinary survival of democracies' Spectator

'This absorbing, important history of South Asia over the six decades since British India was partitioned is the first time a book has been written on the history of this region as a whole' Independent

'A manifest triumph' Literary Review

From the reviews of 'India: A History'

'It is hard to imagine anyone succeeding more gracefully in producing a balanced overview than John Keay has done in "India"... a book that is as fluent and readable as it is up-to-date and impartial. Hardly a page passes without some fascinating nugget or surprising fact' William Dalrymple, Guardian

'Certainly the most balanced and lucid history... his passion for India shines through and illuminates every page... puts Keay in the front rank of Indian historiographers.' Charles Allen, Spectator

'Keay's astute commentary on the development of Indian history is a delight... one of the best general studies of the subcontinent.' Andrew Lycett, Sunday Times