The Fatal Rumour: A Nineteenth Century Indian Novel

by B.R. Rajam Iyer, Stuart Blackburn (Translator)

This is a translation of one of the earliest novels written in Tamil. A family saga with lively characters and a fast-moving plot, it presents a valuable contemporary portrait of late nineteenth-century India.

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

B.R. Rajam Iyer (B. R. Rajam Aiyer/ B. R. Rajamaiyar) ( January 25, 1872 - May 13, 1898) was an author, novelist, columnist, journalist with inclination towards spiritual and philosophical thinking. His full name was B. R. Sivasubramanya Iyer. Rajam Iyer authored Kamalambal Charithiram, one of the earliest novels written in Tamil. He is considered to be one among the forerunners of realist novels in Tamil.

Reviews

[Prabhu R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pioneering novel as a series in a periodical. Written about a century ago, by an author who barely crossed his twenties, it represents the eloquence and the flow that takes the storyline of the novel that is very well defined. It also exhibits the lifestyle of the people who lived a century ago and how the society operated. Some of the parts looked more like digressions but it exhibits the author's eloquence and literary knowledge. It was like travelling back in time.