British captain killed by ‘assassin’ in Egypt brought to life in new book by Exeter historian

The mystery surrounding the death of a British Army captain at the hands of an ‘assassin’ in Egypt during the nineteenth century has been explored by a new piece of historical fiction, released this week.

Captain Charles Agnew, a cavalry officer with the ‘Scarlet Lancers’, was killed in 1873 in a tragedy shocking enough to be mentioned in Parliament.

His extraordinary life and the circumstances leading up to his death have rarely been explored, however, despite his being memorialised by a stone tablet inside Canterbury Cathedral.

But now, a postgraduate historian at the University of Exeter is set to tell the story through a new book, Avarice of Empire, based upon years of extensive research.

Writing under the pseudonym of C.Q. Turnstone, author Iain Harper travelled around the country in search of clues as to what happened 152 years ago, and found sabres and ships’ logs along the way.

“Every day for the past century and a half, that memorial with its unique turn of phrase has made people stop and wonder who Charles Agnew was,” says Iain, who is a postgraduate student on the University of Exeter’s MA History degree. “What was he doing in Egypt? How and why was he killed, and by whom?”

“I was one of those people – on a rainy Sunday in May 2015 – and my imagination was captured instantly. Over time, I began to research what happened, and the more I discovered, the more I knew that this was a story I needed to tell.”

The stone tablet in the cathedral’s south aisle says Charles Agnew “died by the hand of an assassin in Egypt” on 22 March 1873. It adds that the memorial was erected “to his memory in token of their regard by his brother officers of the Sixteenth Queens Lancers”.

Avarice of Empire is, says Iain, the true story of Charles Agnew’s life, what drove him to seek adventure in India, and how he came to meet an untimely end. More than that, however, it is also about the fortitude of Victorian women, class division and colonial prejudice, early photography and the embryonic intelligence service, a revolution in global communications, and how an Irishman discovered what would become India’s largest gold mine.

Beginning in 2016, Iain visited archives in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and London, and scoured a wealth of documents, from the Parliamentary record Hansard to regimental scrapbooks, photo albums, and newspaper reports.

“There were many ‘you couldn’t make this stuff up’ moments,” says Iain, “but at the National Archives in Kew I found the log of the troopship on which Charles sailed from India. That proved to be the key to unlocking the story and making sense of other contradictory accounts.”

The novel, which Iain says is based faithfully on real people and events, spans eight years and features a handful of entirely fictional characters. “They help to weave different strands of the story together,” he explains, “but the documentary evidence always guided how things developed.”

“Charles Agnew’s life had become somewhat lost to history. I hope this book will enable it to be rediscovered and at the same time help to illuminate a fascinating, and often very troubling, period of colonial history.”

Iain joined the MA History programme in September 2024, and is following its Imperial and Global History pathway. He said that having enjoyed the process of researching his book, he wanted to bring that passion to Exeter and learn more about the discipline and best practice of archival research.

“I’m sure my tutors and fellow students have all heard quite enough about the book by now,” Iain admits, “but they’ve all been very supportive and encouraging.”

Iain will be signing copies of his book at Blackwells on the Streatham Campus between 11am and 1pm on Tuesday 18 March.

A select bibliography of the sources Iain used during his research is available on his website.

Avarice of Empire is published by Brindle Books on 6 March.