An Incarnation of the Snow. Translated from the Original Manuscript
Bain, F. W. (Francis William)
Published by James Parker and Co., London (1908) First Edition. Hardcover. Large octavo. xviii + 88pp. Parchment spine with title-label, grey papered boards. B/w frontis with tissue guard attached. Fore and lower edges untrimmed. Corners and spine ends bumped. Spine toned. Pages with varying degrees of foxing, heavier to the latter pages. Overall condition is Good/None. A translation of legends from Hindu mythology.
"Francis William Bain (29 April 1863 3 March 1940) was a British writer of fantasy stories that he claimed were translated from Sanskrit. He was born on 29 April 1863, the son of Joseph Bain. He was educated at Westminster School, before going up to Christ Church, Oxford where he distinguished himself as a student of Classics. In 1889, he was elected a fellow of All Souls College. In his youth he was a keen amateur footballer, representing the University against Cambridge between 1883 and 1886; he was also a member of the leading amateur teams of the time, Wanderers and Corinthians. In 1892, he entered the Indian Educational Service, going on to become a professor of History in the Deccan College of Poonah (Pune), in British India, until his retirement in 1919. He died on 3 March 1940. During Bain's life, the argument raged about whether the story was truly a translation or whether Bain had written it himself. While some early reviewers took his statements at face value, many did not. A contemporary review said, in part: Though palpably a pretence, they are graceful fancies, and might as well have appeared for what they really are instead of masquerading as "translations". No Hindu, unless of this generation and under foreign influence, ever conceived these stories. . . . Moreover, they are of a strict propriety, whereas original Hindu love stories would put Rabelais's ghost to the blush. The book contains numerous footnotes referring to Sanskrit puns and wordplay that the author claimed to have been unable to render in English. A Digit of the Moon was followed by a number of other stories in the same mode: Syrup of the Bees, Bubbles of the Foam, Essence of the Dusk, Ashes of a God, Mine of Faults, Heifer of the Dawn, and others. As more books appeared, it became clearer that Bain was writing these stories himself, not translating. A review of Bubbles of the Foam in 1912 said: Yet, despite the beauty of the whole, there is much in the volume that seems non-Indian; in fact, distinctly Occidental. The phraseology lacks in great part the subtle Sanskrit flavour Before his fantasy series, he also wrote other works, including political works. One was "Antichrist: A Short Examination of the Spirit of the Age." - Wikipedia.
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