Saadat Hasan Manto was an Urdu short story writer. He also wrote novels and screenplays and was also a journalist. But he is most famous for his short stories. He is still regarded as one of the best short story writers in Urdu. The Pity of Partition: Mantos Life, Times and Work Across the India-Pakistan Divide is not primarily about his contributions to Urdu literature. The author actually uses his work and the story of his life to provide a compelling perspective on the devastation caused by the Partition.

The book is divided into three parts. These trace his life in Amritsar, Bombay and Lahore. His literary career began as a translator. He translated the works of famous writer like Victor Hugo and Oscar Wilde into Urdu. He wrote his first collection of short stories when he was 24. He then moved to Bombay where he began to write script and dialogue for Hindi films. He also wrote radio plays for the Urdu service of All India Radio. Manto decided to move to Pakistan after the partition, but he was cosmopolitan in his views. He had friends on both sides of the border.

His stories of the partition provide the viewpoint of both the victim and the aggressor. He believed that the root of the hatred that erupted at that time lay in human nature itself, more than in any particular faith or creed. Through his stories, and through the story of Manto's own life, the author shows how the Partition affected families and individuals. Manto's life and his writings embody the questions and the confusion that must have affected the lives of millions as a country suddenly became divided on communal lines.

Ayesha Jalal is a historian and a writer. She is also the author of The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, The Muslim League And The Demand For Pakistan, Democracy And Authoritarianism In South Asia: A Comparative And Historical Perspective, and Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia.

She was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She is the grandniece of Saadat Hasan Manto who was a renowned Urdu writer. She went on to graduate from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and History. She received her doctorate from Trinity College, Cambridge. She held teaching positions in many universities. She also writes on the history of South Asia. She is the recipient of many awards like the Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the Pakistani Government, the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Prize Fellowship. Jalal is married to Sugata Bose, an Indian and a descendent of Subhash Chandra Bose.