ABSTRACT
This chapter explores in detail the life of the London clerk in the nineteenth century and tries to understand the possible interfaces between the Calcutta kerani and the London clerk of the time. This chapter introduces the comparatist model of the book. The chapter tries to understand who the London clerk is and how he was located in his milieu. It takes up the important question of whether the London clerk was a ‘gentleman’. The chapter engages with the significant event of the birth of the modern office in London as the counting houses slowly gave way to modernity. It also grapples with the entry of women into the clerical profession. The chapter tries to compare the two locations of the clerk and the kerani in their respective workplaces and milieus.
