P. J. Marshall completed a D.Phil at Oxford in 1962. He was a lecturer in history at King's College, London, and became Rhodes Professor of Imperial History in 1981. From 1997 to 2001 he was President of the Royal Historical Society.

"Every studient of empire will be informed and enlightened."--Stephen Saunders Webb, American Historical Review

"A provocative and deeply researched comparative study. This book deserves careful consideration by a wide audience."--Jon Parmenter, Cornell University

"P. J. Marshall is a renowned historian of the British in eighteenth century India and this synthesis of scholarship and the result of his lectures is a valuable and readable volume. It builds on his expertise on India to examine the connections between the loss of the thirteen colonies and the creation of empire in India."--History