Fantasy Fictions from the Bengal Renaissance: The Make-Believe Prince; Toddy-Cat the Bold [Paperback]

'Fantasy Fictions from the Bengal Renaissance' presents two masterpieces of Bengali literature by Rabindranath Tagore's nephews, Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore. 'The Make-Believe Prince' is the delightful story of a king, his two wives, a trickster monkey, a witch, and a helper from another world who is not a 'fairy godmother'. Abanindranath deploys traditional children's rhymes and paints exquisite word-pictures in his unusual original rendering of a tale which has its origins in Bengali folktale materials in various genres. 'Toddy-Cat the Bold' sees a group of brave comrades seek help from a young boy to rescue the son of their leader from the Two-Faced Rakshasa of the forest, and has another, more numinous helper. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice books, it presents a comic, exciting, and mysterious journey quite unlike Carroll's, with many traditional local touches and an unexpected ending.

Foreword by Peter Hunt
Preface
The Make-Believe Prince (Kheerer Putul)
A Nineteenth-century Fantasy Fiction from the Bengal Renaissance
--Sanjay Sircar
1. The Two Queens
2. The King Plans a Sea Voyage
3. The Desires of the Younger Queen
4. The Elder Queen's Desire
5. The King's Illusions
6. The Land of Rubies and the Land of Gold
7. The Land of Pearls and the Land of the King's Daughter
8. The King's Return
9. The Younger Queen's Welcome
10. The Arrival of the Monkey
11. The Elder Queen's Welcome
12. The Sorrow of the Elder Queen
13. The Monkey's Consolation
14. The Disappearance of the Monkey
15. The Monkey's Prediction
16. The Elder Queen's Necklace
17. The Royal Quarrel
18. The Monkey's Complaint
19. The Hovel Renewed
20. The New Pavilion
21. The Witch
22. The Platter of Sweetmeats
23. The Monkey Physician
24. The Imaginary Princeling
25. Arranging a Betrothal
26. The Doll
27. The Bridegroom's Journey
28. The Venerable Shashthi lS1