When the Fight Was Done
Set in India in September 1817, this novel follows the fortunes of two lovers, Captain Robert McKenzie of the Poona Auxiliary Horse and Lakshmi Bai, bride of the Raja of Satara (a marriage yet to be consummated), in a love affair that blossoms in a web of machinations: Baji Rao Peshwa, de facto leader of the Maratha Empire, as he tries to free himself and his country for the ever-tightening grip of the British; Mountstuart Elphinstone, East India Company Resident at Poona, the Peshwa's capitol, who seeks to expand the British role in Maratha affairs; the Peshwa's southern vassals, who attempt to regain the powers they have lost to the Peshwa; Wazir Khan, the much-feared Pindari chieftain, who strives to win the beauteous and as yet unspoiled Lakshmi Bai, the prize offered him for his support of the Peshwa.
The Tribune (Chandigarh): "What rich harvest awaits one here . . . when the much vaunted, much sought fight is done . . . ."
The Statesman (New Delhi): A "poignant love story between a British officer and a Maratha queen set against the historic backdrop of the Maratha Wars of 1817. . . . Rogers' extensive traveling in India has made him conversant with the folklore, traditions, and religious customs which he puts to good use in this novel. . . . The novel gives us a glorious description of the Maratha terrain, customs, and traditions, the inner hostilities, the intrigues which surround the couple in Peshwa Baji Rao II's bid for power."