About the Book
This premium quality edition contains the complete and unabridged original classic version of The Broken Road, printed on heavy, bright white paper in a large 6"x9" format, with page headers and a fully laminated full-color cover featuring an original design. Also included in this edition are an original, detailed biography discussing the life and work of author A.E.W. Mason and annotations, added sparingly, to assist the modern reader with particularly unusual words or usages. The Broken Road... "It was the Road which caused the trouble. It usually is the road. That and a reigning prince who was declared by his uncle secretly to have sold his country to the British, and a half-crazed priest from out beyond the borders of Afghanistan, who sat on a slab of stone by the river-bank and preached a "djehad". But above all it was the road--Linforth's road. It came winding down from the passes, over slopes of shale; it was built with wooden galleries along the precipitous sides of cliffs; it snaked treacherously further and further across the rich valley of Chiltistan towards the Hindu Kush, until the people of that valley could endure it no longer." Thus begins The Broken Road, A.E.W. Mason's sprawling tale of the "price of empire." "The Road" had been the creation of Andrew Linforth, and even as he began it, he foresaw the awful cost it would exact: "The road will reach northwards, through Chiltistan, to the foot of the Baroghil Pass, in the mountains of the Hindu Kush. Not yet, but it will. Many men will die in the building of it from cold and dysentery, and even hunger-Englishmen and coolies from Baltistan. Many men will die fighting over it, Englishmen and Chiltis, and Gurkhas and Sikhs. It will cost millions, and from policy or economy successive Governments will try to stop it; but the power of the Road will be greater than the power of any Government..." In this novel of adventure, intrigue and romance, The Road, snaking its way across the Indian frontier toward Afghanistan, will take on a life of its own, drawing three generations of Linforth men to their fates, sacrificing the lives and happiness of men and women, creating war and insurrection, and, by its own terrible logic, compelling its own construction by men, willing or unwilling, who are powerless to control events. Harshly critical of some of the exploitative and hypocritical aspects of British colonial policy in India, Mason's tale is driven by the rich depth and diversity of its characters as it explores themes of friendship, loyalty, love and duty against the backdrop of the demands, the unfairness, and the human cost as elements of "the price of empire."
About the Author: Alfred Edward Woodley Mason was born in London on May 7, 1865 and educated at Trinity College, Oxford, where he was a leading member of the Dramatic Society and contemplated a theatrical career, appearing in productions on the London stage during the late 1880s. He began writing during this period, seeing his first novel, "A Romance of Wastdale", published in 1895. A commercial failure, it was quickly followed by "The Courtship of Morrice Buckler" (1896), which was well-received and commercially successful, launching Mason's writing career. Already a well-known and successful novelist, in 1902 Mason wrote "The Four Feathers", the best-known work of a career that produced some thirty novels and four volumes of short stories, as well as three major theatrical productions and one screenplay. His most enduringly popular work, "The Four Feathers" is a tale of cowardice, heroism, duty, redemption, and sacrifice set against the background of the British military campaigns in the Sudan in the 1880's. An immediate success, the tale is still widely known today, with numerous film adaptations and reprint editions. Elected to parliament in 1904, Mason served one term, retiring at the next general election in 1910. "The Broken Road" was published in 1907. Sharply critical of aspects of British colonial policy in India, the novel inspired King George V, a fan of Mason's work, to begin to instigate reforms. Upon leaving office Mason published "At the Villa Rose", the first of his "Inspector Hanaud" mystery novels, still popular with mystery fans. Between 1909 and 1913, three plays written by Mason were produced in St James' Theatre. Despite his age - he was nearly fifty years old - at the outbreak of World War I Mason joined the military, first serving as a major in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, then transferring to naval intelligence, helping to set up counter-espionage networks. His experiences in espionage would serve as the inspiration for his first postwar novel, "The Summons" (1920). A year later he published "The Royal Exchange", his first work of non-fiction. With advancing age Mason's output slowed. While writing the noteworthy "Fire Over England" in 1936 he became fascinated with British naval history, publishing "The Life of Francis Drake" in 1941. He was working on a life of Admiral Robert Blake (1598-1657) when he died, at age 83, on November 22, 1948, reputed to have declined knighthood because "such honors have little meaning for a childless man."
