author
Glyn Barlow
Best known for The Story of Madras, this early 20th-century writer introduced readers to the history of Chennai with a brisk, accessible style. Very little biographical detail seems to survive, but the books themselves suggest a strong interest in India’s places, industries, and everyday life.
1 Audiobook
The Story of Madras
by Glyn Barlow
About the author
Glyn Barlow is a little-documented British author whose known works include The Story of Madras, Industrial India, and Memoirs of Gurrumpore. The surviving records available online point more clearly to the books than to the person, so much of Barlow's life remains uncertain.
What does come through is a consistent subject matter. Barlow wrote about India in the early 20th century, especially its cities, industries, and colonial-era society. The Story of Madras, published in 1921, is the work most closely associated with the name and remains of interest to readers curious about the history of present-day Chennai.
Because firm biographical sources are scarce, it is safest to remember Barlow through the writing itself: concise historical storytelling, a documentary eye for place, and a clear effort to make local history readable for general audiences.