Otto Rothfield

Otto Rothfield (1876–1932) was a writer whose books explored India from several angles: everyday life, history, travel, and public affairs. Surviving catalog and library records link him to works such as Indian Dust (1909), With Pen and Rifle in Kishtwar (1918), Women of India (1920), Umar Khayyam and His Age (1922), and Impressions of the Co-operative Movement in France and Italy (1920).

Library records for Impressions of the Co-operative Movement in France and Italy describe him as Registrar of Co-operative Societies in the Bombay Presidency, suggesting that he was involved not only in writing but also in colonial administration. That mix of official experience and literary curiosity helps explain the range of his books, which shift from social commentary to regional travel writing and historical interpretation.

Although detailed biographical information about his life appears to be scarce online, his books still offer a clear sense of his interests: India’s people and customs, frontier travel, and the institutions shaping society in his time. Women of India, in particular, remains one of his best-known works today, helped by its memorable illustrations by M. V. Dhurandhar.