Tab Article

Genre: History, Colonial History, Indian History, Non-Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Book Review:
The Black Hole: Money, Myth and Empire is a masterful work of historical investigation that deconstructs one of the most potent and enduring myths of the British Empire—the story of the Black Hole of Calcutta. In 1756, following the capture of Fort William by the Nawab of Bengal, British prisoners were said to have been forced into a tiny, airless cell overnight, resulting in mass suffocation. This narrative of barbaric atrocity fueled British outrage and justified decades of imperial expansion in India.

This book meticulously examines how the incident was reported, exaggerated, and mythologized over time, exposing the ways in which colonial powers used such stories to legitimize conquest and rule. Combining rigorous scholarship with compelling narrative drive, the author traces how the Black Hole story became a foundational element of imperial propaganda, shaping British self-perception as civilizing liberators.

Praised as “imperial history at its best” by the Sunday Times, the book is both an exciting historical detective story and a sobering reflection on the relationship between power, memory, and myth-making. It sheds light not only on 18th-century India but also on the broader mechanisms through which empires construct moral justification.

Accessible yet deeply insightful, The Black Hole is essential reading for anyone interested in colonial history, postcolonial studies, or the manipulation of truth in the service of empire. A brilliant, eye-opening, and elegantly written work that challenges long-held assumptions with clarity and intellectual force.