Sneh Mahajan is Senior Research Fellow at the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.

• 1. Constructing Britain's Foreign Policy 2. Flaunting the Indian Empire, 1874-80 3. In the Garb of Moral Imperatives, 1880-5 4. Courting the Triple Alliance, 1885-92 5. Facing the Franco-Russian Combine, 1892-8 6. Seeking Partnerships, 1898-1902 7. Russia: A Friend at Last, 1902-7 8. Nurturing the Entente, 1907-14 9. Conclusion

'Mahajan's work, solidly researched and easy to read, is an important contribution to the understanding of the pre-history of Indian foreign policy.' - The Hindu'This well-researched book is a significant contribution to British diplomatic history. It corrects a common Eurocentric bias in many accounts which fail to do justice to the conclusions of imperial defence in the evolution of British foreign poicy.' - C. Dasgupta