Henry Thomas Colebrooke was an East India Company civil servant who became the father of modern Indology. He embodies the significant passage from the speculative yearnings attendant on eighteenth century colonial expansion. This biography traces, explains, and evaluates Colebrooke's importance.

Drawing on new sources, this book evaluates the importance of Henry Thomas Colebrooke, an East India Company civil servant who became the father of modern Indology. Written by renowned academics in the field of Indology, and drawing on new sources, this book shows how he embodies the significant passage from eighteenth century colonial expansion, to the professional, transnational ethos of nineteenth century intellectual life and scholarly enquiry.

"Quoting extensively from every available source, including family papers, and weaving a dense network of information, while remaining readable and jargon free, this relatively concise but extremely thorough study captures in judicious detail the way in which knowledge for its own sake grew out of knowledge required to rule Bengal... Obviously,this brief review cannot do justice to such a polymath. Perhaps it is most appropriate to conclude with the opinion of Wilhelm von Humboldt, cited by the Rochers, that while Colebrooke lacked "the soaring mind and spirit of Jones", he surpassed Jones in his "sober insight and judgement." - Andrew Robinson; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (2012).