Bengal Lancer is a complete one off. On one hand this book is a love affair with the spiritual traditions of India while on the other it is the memoir of a carefree young cavalry officer in the halcyon days of the British Empire. Francis Yeats-Brown proves himself exceptionally good company, both funny and self-deprecating. He is devoted to his ponies and his dogs, passionate about polo and pig-sticking, and endures some extraordinary adventures in the First World War. However it is not his final destination that is memorable, but his idiosyncratic journey to establish some kind of truth.