Mahesh Rao is an accomplished writer whose Polite Society (2018) offered an imaginative retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma set in Delhi.
Mahesh was born in Kenya and studied at the University of Bristol, the University of Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. He has worked as a lawyer and researcher, and his writings have appeared in prominent venues around the world, including The New York Times, Prospect, Conde Nast Traveller, The Baffler, and Elle.
His debut novel, The Smoke is Rising, won the Tata First Book Award for fiction.
In the excerpts below, Mahesh discusses Jane Austen’s ongoing influence and importance in various Indian societies, the importance of books and literature in India, and the role of community in Emma and Polite Society.
You can also access Mahesh’s YouTube Playlist directly.
On His First Memories of Jane Austen
Mahesh Rao on Polite Society (2018)
Mahesh Rao Reflects on the Reading Experience of Jane Austen
Mahesh Rao Talks About the Richness and Complexity of Jane Austen in Different Places Around the World
Mahesh Rao Reflects on Austen’s Novelistic Techniques And Their Importance for Representing Human Complexity
On Austen’s Complex Cultural Status and Popularity in Indian Societies
Mahesh Rao Considers How and Why Austen Remains Relevant in Indian Societies Due to Her Treatments of Money and Marriage
On Austen’s Everyday Storytelling
Mahesh Rao Explores the Themes of Community and Social Mobility in Emma and The Polite Society
Mahesh Rao Reflects on the Rigid Class Structures in Emma and Polite Society and Notes how People Continue to Overreach Such Restrictions
On the Distinct Status of Emma Woodhouse and Ania Khurana