Amitav Ghosh's novels brim with interesting themes set against fascinating historical backdrops. These two quotes are a good place to begin our discussion of Amitav Ghosh, however, because they place a salutary emphasis on the third of the equation that might otherwise be shortchanged: the stories. Ghosh's roots are in journalism and academic writing – investigation and analysis, a revelation of subterranean connections and patterns – but first and foremost, and overriding all the many ideas that inform his work are the stories, the Dickensian proliferation of characters whose lives engage us and who take us to some richly imagined places and times.

First, though, a consideration of the writer's personal history, his own “places” and “times”. Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta on 11 July 1956. His father was first a Lieutenant Colonel in the army and, later, a diplomat. Ghosh grew up in East Pakistan, in Sri Lanka, Iran and India. He attended the Doon School in Dehra Dun, and then received a BA (with honours) in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University in 1976 and an MA in Sociology from the University in 1978.