Sabres on the Steppes

John Ure, whose Shooting Leave told the stories of Victorian heroes fighting on the North-West Frontier, turns his attention to the maverick and wayward Englishmen, Scotsmen and Irishmen who joined the fight against Russian expansionist ambitions, but whose daring exploits exceeded and sometimes disregarded their instructions. Among his roll call of soldiers, journalists and assorted troublemakers are the 'loose cannon' Alexander Gardner and William Moorcroft, the East India Company's stud manager who had his own agenda.