This is a classic history volume by Peter Hopkirk (1930-2014) of the rivalry between Tsarist Russia and The British Empire for interests in Asia. It begins during The Napoleonic Wars when Britain had recently conquered a large part of India and was becoming nervous about its newly acquired possessions. In the meantime, the newly victorious Czarist regime was looking to extend its power conquering and settling lands to the eastward and probing at the Ottoman Empire. Central Asia was a gigantic blank space, a place of danger and mystery and sometimes of romantic tales.
Both Britain and Russia sent a series of explorer-spies into this vast territory to find out what was there. As well as intriguing with, or pressuring local princes. This became a generations-long Secret War which was to end in an anticlimax when both powers decided that there were more important matters elsewhere.
In retrospect, it seems like much ado about nothing at first glance. For Russia to invade India, it would have to get past the nastiest deserts in the world, then the nastiest mountains in the world. Then the British and Indian armies. In other words, Russia trying to conquer India would have been an even worse disaster than anyone else trying to conquer Russia. But there was no way to know that for sure at the time. In any case, much of our knowledge of the geography of the region comes from those days.
Other books in the series are Like Hidden Fire or alternatively On Secret Service East of Constantinople (about German intrigues in Central Asia in World War I) and Setting the East Ablaze (about the Russian Civil War in Central Asia) and Trespassers on the Roof of the World (about the Great Game as played in Tibet). Other books from Hopkirk, which deal with the area but not precisely about the Great Game are Foreign Devils on the Silk Road (about early archeological expeditions on The Silk Road) and The Quest for Kim (about tracing the possible inspirations for the classic Rudyard Kipling story Kim). All of these are now available in Amazon Kindle format.
For a fictional treatment of these events, see the Flashman series by George Macdonald Fraser.
Provides examples / considers the topics of:
- Cloak and Dagger
- Crossing the Desert: Comes with the territory.
- Forever War: Well, sixty-five years, give or take.
- Land of One City: Several. City-states were still fairly common back then.
- Papa Wolf: One Muslim city made a habit of enslaving Russians. When an agent got inside, the slaves told him to give news of their plight to the outside world. As this was some splendid justification, the Czar was quite eager to amass an army to conquer that city. The British thereupon persuaded the local Sultan to just release the slaves rather than annoy Mother Russia.
- Precursors: This was an area full of ruins of Ancient Civilizations. However, there were no secrets that Man Was Not Meant To Know.
- Recycled In Space: Some aspects of Traveller are rather like this. Specifically, the Frontier Wars between the Zhodani and the Imperium can be compared to the relationship between Russia and Britain at this time.
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: The Raj and Britain were almost more like an alliance between two states than like one state and had vastly different interests. This often caused diplomatic problems; a classic one being that Britain's policy toward Tsarist Russia in Europe might be incompatible at a given time with the policy of The Raj, which confused local princes to no end.
- At one time, The Raj was supplying assistance to the Persians against the Russians. However, in Europe, an Obscure Corsican family chieftain ordered a massive invasion of Russia which made Britain an ally of Tsarist Russia in Europe. The Shah was confused, and apparently, his intel wasn't widespread enough to tell him what was happening.
- Secret War: Could be a Trope Codifier. Since Britain and Russia never came to blows, the Great Game was pretty much ignored beyond flare-ups like the Anglo-Afghan War and the Indian Mutiny.
- Spy Versus Spy: But of course.
- Worthy Opponent: The author thinks of the Russian agents like this.
