The present paper explores in considerable detail the approach of Edwin Arnold to his translation of the Hitopadeśa. Having contextualised the Hitopadeśa in Sanskrit literature, the paper explores the way in which Arnold adapts the text as he translates it. The paper argues that Arnold’s book, like those of Kipling later in the century, served not only to bridge the cultural divide between India and what he refers to as ‘England’, but also to bridge the divide within British society between those who knew India and those who did not