Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognised by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. This stirring tale of two happy-go-lucky Brits trying to carve out their own kingdom in the remote mountains of Afghanistan has also proved over time to be a work of penetrating and lasting political insight - amidst its raucous humor and swashbuckling bravado is a devastatingly astute dissection of imperialism and its heroic pretensions.
