Lithgow man Bruce Ryan has written his debut novel “Bibighar: Remember Cawnpore” based on the uprising against the British in India in the 1850’s.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The historically based novel is fiction and based around the massacre in Cawnpore, now known as Kunpar.
The story is set through the perspective of two children, one British, one Indian, whose parents were massacred at Cawnpore.
Both boys escape from the building in which the massacre takes place, helped by Sepoy soldiers, and the story follows their trip across the country to safety.
Mr Ryan chose to have the story revolve around these two children because he wanted to show both sides of the event.
Mr Ryan was born in Lithgow in 1959 and worked at Wallerawang power station for 20 years and now works with severely disabled children at Katoomba High School.
Mr Ryan followed his passion for writing and history research as he took on this project.
“I hadn’t heard too much about this event in history so this is just a new look at it,” he said.
Mr Ryan said he has always been fascinated with India and the many different cultures that reside there.
He hopes that readers can bring a modern eye to the story and see what happened in the past and what you would do differently now.
“I am a storyteller more than a writer, and so it people can think of the terrible things that happened and how they are being mirrored today,” he said.
“But just remember it is only a novel.”
Read more:
The novel took Mr Ryan about 12 months to write, starting at the beginning of 2017 and finishing just before Christmas.
“I’m a mad writer, I love it,” he said.
According to Mr Ryan, most of the copies have been sold in America.
“It’s a start,” he said.
Mr Ryan is in the process of organising signings in town, which he hopes will entice people to give the book a read.
Mr Ryan has already written one third of his second novel, based on research he found when looking at a friends family tree.
“The second novel will be based closer to home on the Bathurst war at Brucedale near Sofala,” he said.
The Bathurst war was a war between the Wiradjuri nation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after Governor Thomas Brisbane came to power, allowing a flood of land grants to the west of the Blue Mountains.
“It’s a bit closer to home for research so it should be really interesting,” he said.
You can purchase Mr Ryan’s debut novel on amazon.com.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Lithgow Mercury. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.