author

Thomas Williamson

1758–1817

An East India Company officer turned lively chronicler of colonial India, he wrote practical guides and vivid sporting books drawn from long experience in Bengal. His work offers a direct, often colorful glimpse of British life and travel in India at the start of the 19th century.

2 Audiobooks

The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 1 (of 2) or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.

The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 1 (of 2) or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.

by Thomas Williamson

The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 2 (of 2) or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.

The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 2 (of 2) or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.

by Thomas Williamson

About the author

Captain Thomas Williamson was a British colonial officer and writer who lived from 1758 to 1817. Sources consistently describe him as serving in the Bengal army and spending about twenty years in India, experience that shaped the books for which he is remembered.

His best-known works include Oriental Field Sports and The East India Vade-Mecum. The first is known for its dramatic descriptions of hunting and outdoor life in India, while the second was written as a practical guide for young men heading out to serve in the East India Company.

Williamson's writing stands out for its firsthand detail. Rather than offering a distant or purely literary picture, he wrote from lived experience, mixing advice, observation, and anecdote in a way that still makes his books useful to readers interested in travel, military life, and the history of British India.