Loot

Young woodcarver Abbas has created a marvel – a mechanical tiger unlike anything the world has seen before. When it’s stolen he must search across the world to reclaim it. In Mysore, young toymaker Abbas works with the French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze to create a spectacular mechanical tiger. The tiger changes his life, drawing him into patronage, friendship, danger and his first encounter with Jehanne, a woman with a fierce imagination and ambitions of her own. When British soldiers ransack Mysore in 1799, the tiger vanishes into imperial hands. Abbas must cross seas and borders to reclaim his legacy. Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award, Loot is a witty, tender historical novel about Indian history, colonial theft, craft, memory and the strange afterlife of stolen things. ' Loot held me spellbound from the first page...an expertly plotted, deeply affecting novel ' Maggie O’Farrell ‘A cinematic novel of empire, colonialism and romance’ Guardian ‘Vivid and witty’ Observer ‘Highly recommended’ Mail on Sunday

Young woodcarver Abbas has created a marvel – a mechanical tiger unlike anything the world has seen before. When it’s stolen he must search across the world to reclaim it. In Mysore, young toymaker Abbas works with the French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze to create a spectacular mechanical tiger. The tiger changes his life, drawing him into patronage, friendship, danger and his first encounter with Jehanne, a woman with a fierce imagination and ambitions of her own. When British soldiers ransack Mysore in 1799, the tiger vanishes into imperial hands. Abbas must cross seas and borders to reclaim his legacy. Longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award, Loot is a witty, tender historical novel about Indian history, colonial theft, craft, memory and the strange afterlife of stolen things. ' Loot held me spellbound from the first page...an expertly plotted, deeply affecting novel ' Maggie O’Farrell ‘A cinematic novel of empire, colonialism and romance’ Guardian ‘Vivid and witty’ Observer ‘Highly recommended’ Mail on Sunday

A Prospect Best Book of 2021 ‘A fascinating and timely book.’ William Boyd ‘Gripping…a must read.’ FT ‘Compelling…humane, reasonable, and ultimately optimistic.’ Evening Standard ‘[A] valuable guide to a complex narrative.’ The Times In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa’s greatest works of art. The ‘Benin Bronzes’ are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like ‘visiting relatives behind bars’. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?

A Prospect Best Book of 2021 ‘A fascinating and timely book.’ William Boyd ‘Gripping…a must read.’ FT ‘Compelling…humane, reasonable, and ultimately optimistic.’ Evening Standard ‘[A] valuable guide to a complex narrative.’ The Times In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa’s greatest works of art. The ‘Benin Bronzes’ are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like ‘visiting relatives behind bars’. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?

A spellbinding historical novel set in the eighteenth century: a hero's quest, a love story, the story of a young artist coming of age, and an exuberant heist adventure that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and fifty years. "Addictively absorbing." -- The New York Times Book Review This wildly inventive, irresistible feat of storytelling from a writer at the height of her powers is "an expertly-plotted, deeply affecting novel about war, displacement, emigration, and an elusive mechanical tiger" (Maggie O'Farrell, best-selling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait). Abbas is just seventeen years old when his gifts as a woodcarver come to the attention of Tipu Sultan, and he is drawn into service at the palace in order to build a giant tiger automaton for Tipu's sons, a gift to commemorate their return from British captivity. His fate--and the fate of the wooden tiger he helps create--will mirror the vicissitudes of nations and dynasties ravaged by war across India and Europe. Working alongside the legendary French clockmaker Lucien du Leze, Abbas hones his craft, learns French, and meets Jehanne, the daughter of a French expatriate. When Du Leze is finally permitted to return home to Rouen, he invites Abbas to come along as his apprentice. But by the time Abbas travels to Europe, Tipu's palace has been looted by British forces, and the tiger automaton has disappeared. To prove himself, Abbas must retrieve the tiger from an estate in the English countryside, where it is displayed in a collection of plundered art.

A spellbinding historical novel set in the eighteenth century: a hero's quest, a love story, the story of a young artist coming of age, and an exuberant heist adventure that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and fifty years. "Addictively absorbing." -- The New York Times Book Review This wildly inventive, irresistible feat of storytelling from a writer at the height of her powers is "an expertly-plotted, deeply affecting novel about war, displacement, emigration, and an elusive mechanical tiger" (Maggie O'Farrell, best-selling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait). Abbas is just seventeen years old when his gifts as a woodcarver come to the attention of Tipu Sultan, and he is drawn into service at the palace in order to build a giant tiger automaton for Tipu's sons, a gift to commemorate their return from British captivity. His fate--and the fate of the wooden tiger he helps create--will mirror the vicissitudes of nations and dynasties ravaged by war across India and Europe. Working alongside the legendary French clockmaker Lucien du Leze, Abbas hones his craft, learns French, and meets Jehanne, the daughter of a French expatriate. When Du Leze is finally permitted to return home to Rouen, he invites Abbas to come along as his apprentice. But by the time Abbas travels to Europe, Tipu's palace has been looted by British forces, and the tiger automaton has disappeared. To prove himself, Abbas must retrieve the tiger from an estate in the English countryside, where it is displayed in a collection of plundered art.

During the 1948 War, Israeli fighters and residents alike plundered Palestinian homes, shops, businesses, and farms. This bitter truth was then suppressed or forgotten over the coming years. Tens of thousands took part in the pillage of Palestinian property, stealing the belongings of their former neighbours. The implications of this mass looting go far beyond the personality or moral fibre of those who took part. Plundering served a political agenda by helping to empty the country of its Palestinian residents. In this context, it was part of the prevailing policy during the war - one designed to crush the Palestinian economy, destroy villages, and to confiscate and sometimes destroy crops and harvests remaining in the depopulated zones. The participating Jewish public became a stakeholder, motivated to prevent Palestinian residents from returning to the villages and cities they had left. These ordinary people were mobilized in the push for the segregation of Jews and Arabs in the early years of statehood. With painstaking original research into primary sources, Adam Raz has brought to light a tragic moment in the history of a conflict that roils the region and the wider world. As the details of the Nakba are understood and documented, redress for Palestinian grievances comes closer to reality.

During the 1948 War, Israeli fighters and residents alike plundered Palestinian homes, shops, businesses, and farms. This bitter truth was then suppressed or forgotten over the coming years. Tens of thousands took part in the pillage of Palestinian property, stealing the belongings of their former neighbours. The implications of this mass looting go far beyond the personality or moral fibre of those who took part. Plundering served a political agenda by helping to empty the country of its Palestinian residents. In this context, it was part of the prevailing policy during the war - one designed to crush the Palestinian economy, destroy villages, and to confiscate and sometimes destroy crops and harvests remaining in the depopulated zones. The participating Jewish public became a stakeholder, motivated to prevent Palestinian residents from returning to the villages and cities they had left. These ordinary people were mobilized in the push for the segregation of Jews and Arabs in the early years of statehood. With painstaking original research into primary sources, Adam Raz has brought to light a tragic moment in the history of a conflict that roils the region and the wider world. As the details of the Nakba are understood and documented, redress for Palestinian grievances comes closer to reality.