Anandamath is a Bengali fiction novel written and published in 1882 by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. It is regarded as one of the most important books in the history of Bengali and Indian literature, set against the backdrop of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century. The story follows the life of its eponymous protagonist from his birth to his death. Anandamath has been translated into many languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese and Korean. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 4 November 1838 into an affluent family in Dakshinapur, now in Bangladesh. His father was Pratapchandra Chattopadhyay, a prominent poet and writer. He had two brothers, Ramakrishna and Gopal. He lost his mother when he was just eight years old and was brought up by his father and grandmother. He went to school for five years and then studied law at the Scottish Church College in Calcutta for two years but gave it up to write poems and stories instead. In 1864, he started writing essays and articles for newspapers such as The Bengal Spectator and The Indian Opinion in addition to publishing several books of his own. Some of his famous works include Taranga (The Thunderbolt), Rajaniganda (King of Kings) and Anandamath. The last book was published after his death and it is considered to be his final work.