Book excerpt: PLAIN TALES FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE gathers together Charles Allen's best loved books on the British experience across the Empire: PLAIN TALES FROM THE RAJ, TALES FROM THE SOUTH CHINA SEAS and TALES FROM THE DARK CONTINENT. These vivid stories and recollections give an evocative and unique glimpse into the lost days of the Empire across India, Africa and the territories fringing the South China Sea. 'A hugely valuable record of colonial life in India, Africa and the Far East -- intimate, vivid and immensely enjoyable' Antonia Fraser