The Poison Tree: A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal

The novel follows Nagendra, his devoted wife Surja Mukhi, and their extended household as quiet domestic certainties are undermined by desire, envy, and ill-considered choices. Through intertwined relationships — including a romantic rival, a manipulative servant, and an orphaned young woman — the narrative shows how private longings and social expectation seed resentment that spreads until it produces betrayal, suffering, and a final catastrophe. Scenes of everyday Hindu domestic life alternate with psychological insight and moral reckoning, and the plot resolves with explanations that reveal causes and consequences of the characters' downfall.