author
F. F. Arbuthnot
1833–1901
A British Orientalist and translator, he spent years in the Bombay civil service before devoting himself to bringing Persian, Arabic, and Indian literature to English readers. He is especially remembered for his scholarly collaborations and for helping publish works that Victorian Britain often treated as taboo.
1 Audiobook
Arabic Authors A Manual of Arabian History and Literature
by F. F. Arbuthnot
About the author
Born in Belgaum on 21 May 1833, Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot built an early career in the Indian civil service in Bombay, eventually serving as a collector for the Bombay government. His long time in India shaped the interests that defined the rest of his life: languages, translation, and the literary traditions of South Asia and the Middle East.
After retiring to Britain, he became known as an Orientalist, linguist, and translator with a strong interest in Persian and Indian writing. He was closely associated with fellow scholars including Richard Francis Burton and Edward Rehatsek, and he helped edit or promote translations of important texts for English readers.
Arbuthnot is also linked with the Kama Shastra Society, a publishing venture created with Burton that was used to circulate works such as the Kama Sutra and other texts that were difficult to publish openly under Victorian obscenity laws. He died in London on 25 May 1901.