'Rajmohan's Wife', the first Indian novel in English

'Rajmohan's Wife' was first serialized in 1864. The book is by one of the most famous Bangla novelist - Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. It was his first novel and his only English novel. Later, he went on to write Bangla novels which are loved even today and Bankimbabu is remembered as one of the bests that the Indian soil has ever produced. 

This novel tells the story of the beautiful and passionate Matangini, married to a villainous man and in love with her sister's husband, represents the vitality of women who remain strong in the face of brutality and the confining expectations of middle-class society. It gives a great description of the then Bengali life. It gives a beautiful description of female beauty. it is told the Bankimchandra wanted to make the novel much larger but later shortened it. We can also feel it because the descriptions at the beginning of the book is very elaborate but it decreases as we move on.

This novel was one which was more heard than read in the previous century. However, with time, it has been recovered and now it makes a very valuable read for book-lovers. When we read the book we will also see that due to mishandling, down the centuries some parts of the original text are missing and so it has been re-written at those parts, guessing what the author might have written there.

It may not be a book of great literary excellence, however its good enough. It is a great read. 'Rajmohan's Wife' continues to be relevant for its universal themes of love and romance and resonates even today for its portrayal of strong women.