Premchand (Dhanpat Rai) was born in Banaras in 1880 and died in 1936, a few months after the publication of Godaan. He began writing while teaching at a government school, and adopted this pen name after his first book of short stories was labeled inflammatory and burned by the British colonial government. His other works include Sevesadan, Nirmala, and many other novels and short stories.Gordon C. Roadarmel (1932-1972) was Assistant Professor of Hindi in the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.Vasudha Dalmia is Professor of Hindi and Chair of South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Preliminary Table of Contents: Introduction to the Second Edition by Vasudha DalmiaIntroduction to the First Edition by Gordon C. RoadarmelGodaan: The Gift of a CowGlossary