The Poison Tree (1873) is a novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Originally serialized in Bangadarshan, a popular literary magazine
founded by Chatterjee in 1872 and later edited by Rabindranath Tagore,
The Poison Tree is a story that engages with the subject of widow
remarriage. "The river flowed smoothly on--leaped, danced, cried out,
restless, unending, playful. On shore, herdsmen were grazing their
oxen--one sitting under a tree singing, another smoking, some fighting,
others eating. Inland, husbandmen were driving the plough, beating the
oxen, lavishing abuse upon them, in which the owner shared." With his
wife's blessing, Nagendra sets out on a journey by boat down the river.
When a sudden storm forces him to leave his boat for safety, he comes
across the ruined home of Kundanandini, a young widow caring for her
father in his final days. When the old man dies, Kundanandini begs him
to take her to Calcutta. As he begins to fall for the beautiful woman,
he struggles with the demands of family, religion, and tradition,
knowing that love wields power over them all. Tragic and timeless, The
Poison Tree is a brilliant romance from a legendary figure in Bengali
literature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's The Poison
Tree is a classic of Bengali literature and utopian science fiction
reimagined for modern readers.
