Sophia Dobson Collet

Sophia Dobson Collet was an English author and dedicated scholar who devoted her life to preserving the story of Raja Rammohun Roy, the father of modern India. Despite being a lifelong invalid who collected materials and wrote portions of her work from her sickbed, she demonstrated remarkable determination and scholarly rigor.

The Biography Project

To be the biographer of Rammohun Roy was, for Miss Collet, “the supreme mission of life.” This passionate zeal was matched by the complete detachment of her outlook and a phenomenal capacity for collecting facts and verifying them. She spent years conducting patient research, gathering materials through long and laborious efforts.

When her health completely broke down and she could no longer continue, she made a dying request to Rev. F. Herbert Stead—a man she had never even met—to complete her work: “I am dying. I cannot finish my ‘Life of Rammohun Roy’. But when I enter the Unseen, I want to be able to tell Rammohun that his ‘Life’ will be finished. Will you finish it for me?”

The Work

The Life and Letters of Raja Rammohun Roy, published posthumously in 1900, became the standard biography in English of the great pioneer of the nineteenth century Indian renaissance. The work can be divided into three sections:

1. Pages 1-124 were written entirely by Miss Collet
2. Pages 124-183 represent portions where Rev. Stead’s manuscript benefited from Miss Collet’s revision
3. The remainder was exclusively composed by Rev. Stead

Rev. Stead carried out his task with such complete self-effacement that readers hardly notice more than one hand was at work. In his own words: “But the work in conception, outline, materials and in all but concluding literary execution, is and remains Miss Collet’s.”

Scholarly Qualities

Miss Collet’s sterling qualities included:

• Complete detachment and objectivity in her research
• Phenomenal capacity for collecting and verifying facts
• Passionate dedication despite continuous ill health
• High standards of usefulness and literary excellence

Her work maintained these high standards even after more than sixty years, though later scholars noted some limitations, particularly regarding the Christian emphasis in interpreting Rammohun’s thought—understandable given that Miss Collet had returned to Trinitarianism from her inherited Unitarian faith in later life and did not know Sanskrit, Arabic, or Persian.

Legacy

The present generation of Indians owes a debt of gratitude to this English woman who took such pains to preserve the life-story of one of India’s greatest countrymen. Her biography ensured that Raja Rammohun Roy’s remarkable achievements would be remembered and studied by future generations. The work was reprinted in a well-edited second edition in 1913 and a third edition with extensive editorial notes in 1962, testament to its enduring value.

Her labour of love, performed with singular honesty and sincerity under extremely trying circumstances, stands as a monument to cross-cultural understanding and dedicated scholarship.