Charles Allen is a British writer and historian. He was born in India, where several generations of his family served under the British Raj. His work focuses on India and South Asia in general. Allen's most notable work is Kipling Sahib, a biography of Rudyard Kipling. His most recent work, Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor, was published in February 2012. Selected works 1975. Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century. 1977. RAJ: A Scrapbook of British India 1877-1947. 1979. Tales from the Dark Continent: Images of British Colonial Africa in the Twentieth Century. 1982. A Mountain in Tibet: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers of India. 1983. Tales from the South China Seas: Images of the British in South-East Asia in the Twentieth Century. 1984. Lives of the Indian Princes, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi. 1987. Kipling's Kingdom: His Best Indian Stories. 1986. A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Journals of Charlotte Canning. 1988. A Soldier of the Company: Life of an Indian Ensign 1833-43. 1989. Architecture of the British Empire, Ed. R. Fermor-Hesketh. 1990. The Savage Wars of Peace: Soldiers' Voices 1945-1989. 1991. Thunder and Lightning: the RAF in the Gulf War. 1999. The Search for Shangri-La: a Journey into Tibetan History. 2000. India Through the Lens: Photography 1840-1911, Ed. Vidya Dehejia. 2000. Soldier Sahibs: the Men who Made the North-West Frontier. 2002. The Buddha and the Sahibs: the Men who Discovered India's Lost Religion. 2004. Duel in the Snows: the True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa. 2005. Maharajas:Resonance from the Past. 2006. God's Terrorists: the Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad. 2007. Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling. 2008. The Buddha and Dr Fuhrer: an Archaeological Scandal. 2011. The Taj at Apollo Bunder: the History of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai', with co-author Sharada Dwivedi. 2012. Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor.