*** This is a new, never read book. It has a few blemishes such as a crease or edge-wear on the cover, but it is still crisp and new on the inside and it makes for a great reading copy. ***
Originally published in Bengali in 1912, Tagore's Jivan Smriti, an account of the first twenty-seven years of his life, came out in English in 1917. Starting with an account of his spartan upbringing in a large joint family under the strict discipline of family retainers, Tagore continues the story with his early education, his first real aquaintance with his ascetic father on a trip to the Himalayas, his apprenticeship in poetry, music and theatre under the tutelage of his remarkable cousin, Jyotirindranath Tagore, his first visit to England, and the composition of his earliest works. The book ends with an important death, that of Jyotirindranath's wife, a death which deeply affected Tagore's poetry personality.