Letters from Kathmandu: The Kot Massacre belongs to the general category of documentary history. The documents presented here in an edited form describe events in Nepal as they were observed and interpreted by the British Residents in Nepal. The letters produced in this book are focused on the Kot Massacre and provide a fairly coherent story of the events that immediately preceded the Kot. It collects a number of translated letters. The original language of these translated letters was Persian which was the language of diplomacy in all dealings with the East India Company. Without trying to eliminate their bias, the editor has indicated in his notes and introductory explanations the special areas in which the reader should be especially alert for distortions or questionable interpretation. The result is a gripping story that develops step-by-step as each document unfolds.