The British invasion of Tibet in 1904 is one of the strangest events in British imperial history. Conceived by Lord Curzon as a strategic move in the Great Game - that colossal struggle between imperial Britain and Tsarist Russia for influence in Central Asia - the incursion was in fact ill-conceived and inspired by only the weakest of motivations. Led by the soldier, explorer and mystic, Francis Younghusband, the mission - doomed from the very beginning - became caught in political cross-fire and the distant and destructive machinations of China and Britain and ended in ignominy and disappointment for this idealistic adventurer. Peter Fleming's gripping portrayal of this curious episode and its charismatic protagonists brilliantly illuminates what is now seen as a key moment in the Great Game, the repercussions of which continue to be felt throughout the region.
- ISBN10 1848856989
- ISBN13 9781848856981
- Publish Date 27 April 2012 (first published 1 May 1986)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Barbara Ward & Associates
- Format Paperback
- Pages 328
- Language English