John Grose (1744-1771): Correspondence relating to his Career in Bengal, 1763-1771

Abstract

• John Grose (1744-1771): Correspondence relating to his Career in Bengal, 1763-1771. The papers contained in BL, MSS Eur E284, Letters and papers of and relating to John Grose (c. 1744-71), East India Company servant […] chiefly comprising letters to members of his family, formerly formed part of a larger collection of papers relating to the Grose family of the Isle of Wight and London. While the items relating to John Grose, which cover his short career overseas, were sold in two lots and became part of the British Library’s holdings in the 1960s, the bulk of the family papers, some 600 items mainly pertaining to John’s brother Nash and his wife, remained in private hands until also sold at auction when they were bought by the author of this article. Investigation showed that some items relating to John Grose’s career in Bengal still remained in the family papers, and this article uses the two groups to form a coherent account of this young East India Company employee at a turbulent time in the history of Bengal.