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The life and times of Bahadur Shah Zafar II have generally been examined from the perspective of the 1857 uprising and the exile of this ‘tragic’ emperor who experienced the collapse of the vestiges of Mughal power. The book under review, however, strikes a different note. The very title of the book successfully conveys that the endeavour of the author is to carefully integrate the story of the life of Zafar with the growth of colonial presence in the city of Delhi. Besides, it is refreshing to note that throughout the book the ‘native’ is not set against alien rule but alongside it.