Product Description
The Indian Stories of Francis William Bain (b. 1863, d. 1940) were published early in the 20th century. They purport to be translations of unidentified manuscripts. However, these books are not directly derived from Hindu texts or traditions. Bain was eventually unveiled as a writer of orientalist fantasies, but by that time he had a loyal readership who could care less. He continued to press on with the series until there were thirteen volumes. This is thus a harmless literary hoax on a par with Bilitis. Which is not to say that these books don't have their charm, particularly if you like early fantasy writers, such as William Morris or Lord Dunsany. Just don't use them as sources for information about Hindu mythology.*
To quote the New York Times Book Review, "the stories are not easy to describe, but it has been said of them that we have nothing in English literature at once so tender, so passionate, so melancholy and so wise."**
This volume is a dramatic tale of India. In it woman, perilously charming, even more crafty than beautiful, proves the undoing of
man; for she it is who, as a physical presence or deeply entrenched in his memory, keeps his high resolves from attaining fruition. The author's colorful diction and flexible phrases, as
elusively beautiful as the folds of a light-penetrated gauze stirred by a ripple of breeze, add a delicate charm to this quaint Old World story.***
* Internet Sacred Text Archives
** New York Times Book Review, Nov. 19, 1910
*** G. P. Putnam's Sons
Be sure to look for other novels by this author for your Kindle.
To quote the New York Times Book Review, "the stories are not easy to describe, but it has been said of them that we have nothing in English literature at once so tender, so passionate, so melancholy and so wise."**
This volume is a dramatic tale of India. In it woman, perilously charming, even more crafty than beautiful, proves the undoing of
man; for she it is who, as a physical presence or deeply entrenched in his memory, keeps his high resolves from attaining fruition. The author's colorful diction and flexible phrases, as
elusively beautiful as the folds of a light-penetrated gauze stirred by a ripple of breeze, add a delicate charm to this quaint Old World story.***
* Internet Sacred Text Archives
** New York Times Book Review, Nov. 19, 1910
*** G. P. Putnam's Sons
Be sure to look for other novels by this author for your Kindle.
About the Author
F. W. Bain was a Professor of History and Economics at Deccan College in Poona in the early twentieth century. Each of the books in this series is said to be translated from the original manuscripts, which were apparently in Sanskrit. Professor Bain's erudite yet sensitive introductions and footnotes indicate his extensive scholarship in both the Easter and Western traditions.
