Nirmala
Premchand · 1880–1936 · India
Originally Nirmala (Hindi) · translated by Alok Rai
Why it matters
A bright teenager is married off to a widower twice her age after her family can't match a rival groom's dowry, then slowly suffocates under a household's suspicion. Premchand's fiercest attack on the dowry system, written to wound the practice, not just describe it.
At a glance
family sagatragedy
Difficulty 3/10medium pace215 pagesPlain realist prose; the weight lands in the story, not the style.
Where to go next
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