The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian

The Autobiography of an Unknown Indianis an astonishing work of self-discovery and the revelation of a peerless and provocative sensibility. Describing his childhood in the Bengali countryside and his youth in Calcuttaand telling the story of modern India from his own fiercely independent viewpointChaudhuri fashions a book of deep conviction, charm, and intimacy that is also a masterpiece of the writer's art.

Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897–1999) was born in the town of Kishorganj in East Bengal in the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. His first book, The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, was published in 1951 and was followed by many others, including The Continent of Circe, for which he won the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, and Thy Hand Great Anarch!, a second volume of memoirs. Chaudhuri moved to England in 1970. In 1992 Queen Elizabeth II conferred upon him the title of Honorary Commander of the British Empire.

Ian Jack was the editor of The Independent on Sunday and of Granta. He is the author of The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain and he writes regularly for The Guardian.