Shampa Roy – författare

The emergent culture of crime writings in late 19th century colonial Bengal (India) is an interesting testimony to how literature is shaped by various material forces including the market. This book deals with true crime writings of the late 1800s published by ‘lowbrow publishing houses’ — infamous for publishing ‘sensational’ and the ‘vulgar’ literature — which had an avid bhadralok (genteel) readership.

The volume focuses on select translations of true crime writings by Bakaullah and Priyanath Mukhopadhyay who worked as darogas (Detective Inspectors) in the police department in mid-late nineteenth century colonised Bengal. These published accounts of cases investigated by them are among the very first manifestations of the crime genre in India. The writings reflect their understandings of criminality and guilt, as well as negotiations with colonial law and policing. Further, through a selection of cases in which women make an appearance either as victims or offenders, (or sometimes as both,) this book sheds light on the hidden gendered experiences of the time, often missing in mainstream Bangla literature.

Combining a love for suspense with critical readings of a cultural phenomenon, this book will be of much interest to scholars and researchers of comparative literature, translation studies, gender studies, literary theory, cultural studies, modern history, and lovers of crime fiction from all disciplines.

The emergent culture of crime writings in late 19th century colonial Bengal (India) is an interesting testimony to how literature is shaped by various material forces including the market. This book deals with true crime writings of the late 1800s published by ‘lowbrow publishing houses’ — infamous for publishing ‘sensational’ and the ‘vulgar’ literature — which had an avid bhadralok (genteel) readership.

The volume focuses on select translations of true crime writings by Bakaullah and Priyanath Mukhopadhyay who worked as darogas (Detective Inspectors) in the police department in mid-late nineteenth century colonised Bengal. These published accounts of cases investigated by them are among the very first manifestations of the crime genre in India. The writings reflect their understandings of criminality and guilt, as well as negotiations with colonial law and policing. Further, through a selection of cases in which women make an appearance either as victims or offenders, (or sometimes as both,) this book sheds light on the hidden gendered experiences of the time, often missing in mainstream Bangla literature.

Combining a love for suspense with critical readings of a cultural phenomenon, this book will be of much interest to scholars and researchers of comparative literature, translation studies, gender studies, literary theory, cultural studies, modern history, and lovers of crime fiction from all disciplines.

The year is 1904 and there''s a storm brewing on the horizon...

Nothing ever disturbs the quaint idyll of the village Rajapur. That is, until one day, a young widow is discovered bludgeoned to death, flies swarming over her corpse.

Called in to investigate, Bansidhar, the local daroga, is at his wits'' end about this grisly murder, further complicated by the slain woman''s ties to the most important household in the village - the Rajbari.

Inspector Dhananjoy Lahiri has just arrived at his friend Bansidhar''s for a break from work, but he can''t stop himself from being drawn to the gruesome case.

As the duo begins to dig deep into the victim''s life and her relationships with the people she worked for, they discover that the Rajbari residents are hiding secrets of their own.

With the clock ticking, will the two of them be able to find the killer before tragedy strikes again?