The Moghul
by Thomas Hoover (1941–)
- Free to read
- 15 hours to read
- 31 chapters
- Reading level: 6th grade
"The Moghul" by Thomas Hoover is a historical novel written in the early 1980s. The narrative unfolds during a tumultuous period around the year 1620, focusing on the adventures of Brian Hawksworth, an English ship captain navigating the complex political and cultural landscape of Moghul India as he aims to establish trade routes and secure England’s interests against Portuguese dominance. The book promises a vivid portrayal of the clash between empires, blending action with themes of love and the allure of an exotic land. The opening of the novel introduces Brian Hawksworth as he commands his ship, the "Discovery", through a treacherous sea battle against Portuguese galleons near India. Following a hard-fought victory, Hawksworth arrives in India, where he is quickly captivated by the beauty and mystique of the Moghul Empire. As he ventures inland, he faces conflicts of loyalty, desires for power, and the idea of a forbidden love. With vivid descriptions of the era's intrigue—complete with battles, the courtiers, and the lavish lifestyle of Indian royalty—this initial chapter sets the stage for an epic tale that combines historical adventure with deeply personal stakes.
- Historical fiction
- East India Company
- India · History · 1526-1765
Read the opening
Chapter One
LANDFALL
He watched from the quarterdeck as the chain fed through the whitecaps of the bay, its staccato clatter muffled, hollow in the midday heat. Then he sensed the anchor grab and felt an uneasy tremor pass along the hull as the links snapped taut against the tide. The cannon were already run in and cooling, but vagrant threads of smoke still traced skyward through the scuttles and open hatch, curling ringlets over two draped bodies by the mainmast. Along the main deck scurvy-blotched seamen, haggard and shirtless to the sun, eased the wounded toward the shade of the fo'c'sle.
He drew the last swallow of brandy from his hooped wooden tankard and instinctively shifted his gaze aloft, squinting against the midday sun to watch as two bosun's mates edged along the yards to furl the mainsail. Then he turned to inspect the triangular lateen sail behind him, parted into shreds by the first Portuguese cannon salvo, its canvas now strewn among the mizzenmast shrouds.
Keep reading The Moghul →
Download for your e-reader
Files are provided by Project Gutenberg. On a Kindle, the simplest route is to send the EPUB with Amazon’s Send to Kindle. Downloaded copies don’t sync with your place on Classic Book Reader.
About this edition
This free edition of The Moghul by Thomas Hoover comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #34322, released 2010-11-14. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Historical Novels, Adventure, British Literature.
Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).
