This book presents the English translation of Sylvain Levi’s monumental three-volume work, Le Nepal: Etude Historique d’un Royaume Hindou (1905), originally published in French. While the present translation encompasses Books I and II, Book III, consisting solely of inscriptions, has been omitted. At the time of Levi’s visit, Nepal was a kingdom, a status it maintained from the Licchavi period (5th century) until 2008, when the monarchy was abolished. While the title “Historical Study of a Hindu Kingdom” may appear anachronistic today, it faithfully reflects the original work’s context, written over 120 years ago when Nepal was a Hindu kingdom. Changing the title due to the country’s political transformation would be inappropriate. Rulers and regimes come and go, but nations endure. This book, therefore, serves as a unique window into Nepal’s past, offering a glimpse rarely available to contemporary readers. *** Sylvain Levi’s seminal work was the first attempt to produce a comprehensive study of Nepal, drawing on all the indigenous, Chinese and European sources then available. Although published more than a century ago, it remains relevant, particularly for its characterisation of Nepal as an ‘India in the making? The value of Mary Harris first full, accessible English translation is enhanced by the information Deepak Shimkhada and Pratapaditya Pal provide about Sylvain Levi himself and the treatment of his work by other scholars. – John Whelpton, author of A History of Nepal, Cambridge University Press, 2005