Premchand's novel Nirmala, first published in 1928, is one of the most poignant novels in Hindi on the theme of the young adolescent yoked to an elderly husband. Nirmala's tragedy is a social one, dictated by the ills of the dowry system. Clearly reformist in its agenda, the novel succeeds in exploring sensitive and even dangerous terrain. Alok Rai's translation, complete with notes, makes this text available to readers not conversant in Hindi. The volume also includes an Afterword which takes note of the special context of the novel, placing melodrama in perspective and analysing its powerful working, as well as making possible a contemporary reading of the work.