author
Aleph Bey
A little-known late-19th-century writer, remembered for a single striking novel about mixed heritage and social prejudice in British India. The surviving record is sparse, which only adds to the mystery around a book that tackles identity and injustice with unusual directness.
1 Audiobook
That Eurasian
by Aleph Bey
About the author
Aleph Bey is known today for That Eurasian, first published in 1895. Modern catalog and library sources consistently point to that novel as the only clearly documented work under this name.
The book centers on the life of a child born to an English father and an Indian Muslim mother, and it explores belonging, stigma, and the harsh realities of colonial rule. Publisher and library notes connected with the text describe the author as a European who had lived in India for a long time, which fits the novel's close attention to Anglo-Indian society and its inequalities.
Very little reliable biographical information about the person behind the name has survived. Because the record is so thin, Aleph Bey is best approached through the power of the novel itself: a rare, socially observant story that still stands out for its sympathy, moral urgency, and interest in people living between cultures.