Colonial lore seen through the prism of a lone hitman

History: The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj, By Anita Anand, Simon & Schuster, €17.95

Michael O’Dwyer’s friends described him as “Irish to the backbone”. Growing up in 19th-century Tipperary, however, he saw his home attacked by Fenians and decided they were a bunch of savages. He maintained the same colonial attitude after becoming lieutenant governor of the Punjab, claiming: “The British Empire in India is the greatest ...