Biography as a literary form offers unique insights into the personal struggles, intellectual development, and historical context of remarkable individuals. The “Life and Letters” tradition—combining biographical narrative with personal correspondence—creates particularly intimate portraits of its subjects.
This collection features meticulously researched biographies of two transformative Bengali figures: Raja Rammohun Roy, the father of Indian renaissance and social reform, and Toru Dutt, the prodigiously talented poet who mastered three languages before her death at twenty-one. Through their letters and life stories, we witness the human dimensions of historical greatness.