Bankimchandra Chatterji (1838-94) is called the father of the Bengali novel and considered by many as its greatest novelist. He was a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance and closely associated with the Indian independence movement. Durgeshnandini (The Chieftain's Daughter) was his first novel in Bengali and the first complete novel in Indian literature.Julius J. Lipner is Professor in Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion and Chairman of the Faculty Board of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of several books, including Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: The Life and Thought of a Revolutionary.