Creator's Description: In recent years there has been a growing interest in how non-Western peoples are depicted in the literatures of the West. This study eschews the tendency to regard virtually all depictions of non-Western "others" as amenable to the same kinds of "orientalist" analysis, and argues that the portrayals found in such writings must be examined in their particular historical and political settings. These themes are explored by considering the voluminous literature about the "Gurkhas," those legendary soldiers from Nepal who have served in Britain's Imperial and post-Imperial armies for more than two centuries. The authors, most of whom are or were British officers who have served in Gurkha regiments, find in their subjects the quintessential virtues of the European officers themselves: the Gurkhas appear as warriors and gentlemen.