Deserter, archaeologist and spy – the extraordinary adventures of Charles Masson

When the red-headed Englishman deserted the East India Company in 1827 to conduct his own archaeological digs in Afghanistan, he never imagined the Company would find him again, or try to blackmail him into spying

Dr Edmund Richardson tells the story of Charles Masson, a red-headed Englishman, who embarked on a series of adventures and misadventures in Afghanistan after deserting from the East India Company Army in 1827.

When Charles arrived in Kabul it was one of the wonders of the world, a wealthy and tolerant city in Asia and he fell in love with its bazaars, its fruit orchards, and its storytellers.

Charles was on the trail of Alexander the Great.

He set out to find one of Alexander’s lost cities, "Alexandria Beneath the Mountains".

Along the way, Charles uncovered many treasures from Afghanistan’s Buddhist past.

He visited the giant Bamiyan Buddhas (since destroyed by the Taliban) and discovered a 2000-year-old golden casket, which featured the earliest known face of the Buddha.

And while Charles was digging up the past, the East India Company was tightening its net around him.

Further information

Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City is published by Bloomsbury

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