The Mystery of the Fortress & Other Stories

by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Shankar Sen (Translator)

While Sherlock Homes' card read, Consulting Detective, Byomkesh Bakshi's name plate read, A Seeker of Truth. Though endowed with amazing powers of deduction and analytical intelligence, Saradindu's revered character of Byomkesh served as a common man's conscience. Immersed in the middle-class Bengali social milieu of the 1930's, its appeal refuses to die down even in this age of forensic detection and investigation. This volume contains 32 stories.

243 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2009

About the author

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (Bengali: শরদিন্দু বন্দোপাধ্যায়; 30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was a well-known literary figure of Bengal. He was also actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi.
He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories, plays and screenplays. However, his forte was short stories and novels. He wrote historical fiction like Kaler Mandira, GourMollar (initially named as Mouri Nodir Teere), Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere (all novels), Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishangni) and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he wrote many songs and poems.

Awards: 'Rabindra Puraskar' in 1967 for the novel 'Tungabhadrar Tirey'. 'Sarat Smriti Purashkar' in 1967 by Calcutta University.

Reviews

[Ravi Teja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've mixed feelings about this book.

I've come to love the escapades of Byomkeshbabu and Ajitbabu over the time and this is the last available book in English that recounts the adventures of that duo. I've grown quite fond of these characters and gained a lot of respect for the skilful writing of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.

Yet, of the five stories present in this book, I felt the first three were very meh. The last two are impressive and makeup for the lack of vigour in the first three. They are bigger in length as well, which is awesome. One of my biggest petty gripe is Satyaboti is called Satyabati, throughout the book, I couldn't accept that.

With this my journey with Byomkeshbabu and Ajitbabu ends for now, unless either more stories are translated into English or I learn Bengali. A decent read.

[Mukesh Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book in 2015, importing it half the world across from India to Tunisia! ( It was during a Byomkesh craze phase I had)
As it turned out, I never turned around to finishing it, intermittently reading it over the years. That is until now.
What to add, crisp stories as always. Bit aged. But inimitable Byomkesh. Competent translation. That's all

[Manu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sad after reading this book, that somehow the selection of stories for this collection is the worst.
There is no detection at all happening in 2-3 stories out of the 5. Are my memories of Byomkesh a mandela effect?

[Lsharathkumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of stories. Sheer Brilliance on part of Sharadindu