Bookbenchers: Patrick Mercer MP

A military flavour this week, as Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP for Newark, tells us what’s on his shelves — and on his mind. It should come as no surprise that a former colonel in the Worcester and Sherwood Foresters would rescue the regimental history from the burning British Library. He is also a historical novelist. His latest short story, Dr Watson’s War, is about post-traumatic stress disorder in Victorian Britain. He wrote about the subject earlier this week.   

1) Which book is on your bedside table at the moment?

 
I am currently re-reading John Masters’ The Nightrunners of Bengal. I am reading not only for enjoyment, but also for the fact that Slightly Foxed has asked me to review it. I love Masters; he is lyrical without being prolix and the subject matter — the British Raj and the Indian Mutiny in particular — are both very close to my heart.