Patterson, Steven H., Tin gods on wheels: Gentlemanly honor and the imperial ideal in India, The University of Memphis, 2003, Brief summary

“This … traces the development of British imperial ideology in India during the late Victorian and early Edwardian era. It … (argues) that devotion to a gentlemanly ideal guided imperial behaviour. The emergence of this ideal can be traced through … texts … classical history, Saxon history, domestic manuals, guides to servants in India, etiquette manuals, postcards, satires, and books on education. To the British in India, these sources represented the past, present and future of the British Raj, and all these texts disseminated ideas about proper masculine behavior that would uphold the dignity of the Raj, and thus the empire. This dissertation is thus an examination of masculinity and the sources of that masculinity. An understanding of masculinity is key to providing a better grasp of how the British justified their empire in India.” From the abstract.