A Fatal Friendship: The Nawabs, the British, and the City of Lucknow

Abstract

The city of Lucknow, once described as last example of the old pomp and refinement of Hindustan, still remains one of the most interesting cities of north India. This lively urban history presents a panorama of the political, cultural, and architectural life of Lucknow during its heyday: from the ascendancy of the first nawab in the early 18th century to the deposition of the last nawab in 1856. Focusing on the architecture itself and the particular psychologies that lay behind the building facades, the author draws some intriguing conclusions about nawabi Lucknow and the colonial mind in its relation to Indian urban life.