Malleson's 1868 History of the French in India covers the period from the founding of Pondicherry in 1674 to its capture in 1761, relatively neglected in colonial histories of India. It is notable for its generous reassessment of the careers of the leaders of French India throughout this period.
This work of 1868 is a revised and expanded version of a series of articles contributed by G. B. Malleson (1825-1898) to the Calcutta Review. The author served in India for thirty years from 1847, retiring finally with the honorary rank of major-general. Drawing on his wealth of first-hand experience of Anglo-Indian military history, he wrote prolifically and with an accessible, vigorous style. This work on the history of the French in India from 1674 to 1761 reassesses the career and contribution of Joseph François Dupleix and other major figures in this period of the Franco-Indian empire. He sees the decline in French power as the result of a few extremely able persons being let down by their mother-country's lack of support. In this he contrasts the French with the English in terms of their Indian colonial history.
