The English Teacher is a 1945 novel written by R. K. Narayan. It is a part of a series of novels and collections of short stories set in “Malgudi”. The English Teacher was preceded by Swami and Friends (1935), The Bachelor of Arts (1937) and Malgudi Days, (1943) and followed by Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi.
This novel, dedicated to Narayan’s wife Rajam, is not only autobiographical but also poignant in its intensity of feeling. The story is a series of experiences in the life of Krishna, an English teacher, and his quest for inner peace and self-development after the traumatising death of his wife.
This novel completes the informal trilogy which began with Swami and Friends and The Bachelor of Arts . The protagonist, Krishna, is an English teacher at the same college he had attended as a student. Although Krishna has recently married, his wife Susila and their daughter live with his parents-in-law some miles away.
The story opens with his immediate family deciding to join him in Malgudi. Krishna is initially frightened by his new state of affairs, but he soon finds that his love for both his wife and child grows deeper than he could have imagined.
