Folk Tales of Bengal: Life’s Secret (1883) is a collection of stories by Lal Behari Dey. Inspired by the stories told to him by village elders in his boyhood, Lal Behari Dey wrote Folk Tales of Bengal: Life’s Secret in order to portray the lives and traditions of Bengali peasants in a positive, human light. Praised by Charles Darwin for his novel Govinda Samanta: Or the History of a Bengal Raiyat, Lal Behari Dey was awarded a substantial prize for his literary achievements by a prominent Bengali zamindar, cementing his reputation as a pioneering figure in Bengali literature. “I have reason to believe that the stories given in this book are a genuine sample of the old old stories told by old Bengali women from age to age through a hundred generations.” With this certificate of authenticity, Lal Behari Dey presents the stories of his youth in Bengal, stories of kings and queens, gods and monsters, of rich and poor and everything in between. In “Life’s Secret,” he tells the tale of Suo, a beautiful queen who has been unable to give birth to a son for her impatient, powerful husband. Just as she is ready to give in to despair, a mysterious healer presents her with a magical drug that will grant her the fertility she seeks. In “Phakir Chand,” two young friends on a journey to a foreign land encounter a princess held captive by a terrifying serpent. Saving her, they agree to remain at her palace, but only one of them can take her hand in marriage. Charming, instructive, and often surprising, Folk Tales of Bengal: Life’s Secret is an underappreciated masterpiece of Bengali literature from Lal Behari Dey.

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