India, Oct. 11 -- Two decades separate the two memoirs collected in A Stranger in Three Worlds, which shows Aubrey Menen's gaze varying from simply clever to more reflective even as he remains steadfast against imperialism

The confluences and clashes the British Empire engendered in India have received extensive literary scrutiny. While writers such as EM Forster and Rudyard Kipling continue to find readers, others who were once popular or controversial have drifted to the fringes of public attention. JR Ackerley, Nirad C Chaudhuri, and Aubrey Menen are in the latter category.

While their backgrounds, styles, and viewpoints differ, their writings are so rooted in their eras and milieus that their concerns and characterisations may seem ...