In A Soldier of the Company, Charles Allen, a well-known authority on the British in India, has abridged the memoirs of Captain Albert Hervey who arrived in India as a 16-year-old cadet in 1833 and subsequently served with the 40th Madras Native Infantry. Illustrated with contemporary prints and line drawings, these memoirs follow Hervey's growth to manhood during a period in which Britain tightened her hold on India, the jewel in the crown. Hervey recalls the excitement and confusion of his early experiences, from the duties of a young subaltern, to the giddy whirl of balls and life in the mess; from his descriptions of life on the march with his troops to his account of the sights, sounds and concerns of a vanished way of life. Other works by Charles Allen include Plain Tales from the Raj, Lives of the Indian Princess, A Glimpse of the Burning Plain and Kipling's Kingdom.