Novelist, critic, diplomat, scholar, Ahmed Ali was born in Delhi in 1910. He became famous in 1932 with the publication of Angaray in Urdu and co-founded the All India Progressive Writers Movement. His many works include the well known anthology of classical Urdu poetry, The Golden Tradition and Al-Qur’an, a Contemporary Translation. Ahmed expired in Karachi in 1994.

Twilight in Delhi set in nineteenth century Delhi brings history alive, depicting most movingly the decay of an entire culture and way of life. The British are to be the rulers of the country and change is inevitable. Vivid and captivating, it is truly a masterpiece.

In the words of Bonamy Dobree, ‘Mr. Ahmed makes us hear and smell Delhi . . . hear the flutter of pigeons’ wings, the cry of itinerant vendors, the calls to prayer, the howls of mourners, the chants of qawwals, smell jasmine and sewage, frying ghee and burning wood.’

When it was first published in 1940, Twilight in Delhi was widely acclaimed by critics and hailed in India as a major literary event. It has since become a classic. It has been translated into Urdu, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German .

‘It is beautifully written and very moving . . . At the end, one has a poignant feeling that poetry and daily life have got parted, and will never come together again’

—E.M. Forster

‘The writing provides a curiously pictorial effect, yet is itself as clear as water. The end where innocence is drowned by experience is intensely moving’

—Edwin Muir ,The Listener