Few themes in history have had as strong a hold on people’s imagination. Fewer still have managed to alter the course of civilization.

This is Charles Allen’s definitive account of the Aryans, offering a grand sweep of language, mythology, contested histories and conflict. Spanning continents, cultures and societies: from the Russian steppe to the Indus valley, the Iliad to the Mahabharata, Greek to Sanskrit, Putin to Trump, and Müller to Vivekananda, Aryans astonishes with its scope. Allen, true to a style that has endeared him to a legion of admirers, weaves a narrative that is startling and illuminating.

Product of a great investigation and meticulous scholarship, Aryans, Allen’s last book, is his crowning achievement and marks the end of an illustrious career.

PRAISE FOR COROMANDEL

* 'Coromandel is lively and its stories well chosen.’ – The Economist

* 'An engaging and meaningful account of a very long and complex history.’ – Times Literary Supplement

* '[Makes] history interesting by combining natural storytelling vim with a magpie-sharp eye for shiny detail.’– India Today

PRAISE FOR ASHOKA

* 'Like an explorer in a jungle, stripping away the foliage from a long-forgotten city, Charles Allen brings to light the most extraordinary ruler in Indian history.’– Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

* 'A labour of love and notable scholarship, Charles Allen’s Ashoka is a fitting testament to a forgotten epic of discovery. . . All who relish India’s antiquity should read this book.’ – John Keay, author of Midnight's Descendants

* 'Read this and you will see how absorbing history can be.' – Lord Meghnad Desai, author of Rediscovery of India