false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177539995m/711772.jpg 711772 2 With a New Introduction by Hilary Spurling<br><br><i>The Raj Quartet</i>, Paul Scott's epic study of British India in its final years, has no equal. Tolstoyan in scope and  Proustian in detail  but completely individual in effect, it records the encounter between East and West through the experiences of a dozen people caught up in the upheavals of the Second World War and the growing campaign for Indian independence from Britain. <br><br>The first novel, <i>The Jewel in the Crown,</i> describes the doomed love between an English girl and an Indian boy, Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar. This affair touches the lives of other characters in three subsequent volumes, most of them unknown to Hari and Daphne but involved in the larger social and political conflicts which destroy the lovers. In <i>The Day of the Scorpion</i>, Ronald Merrick, a sadistic policeman who arrested and prosecuted Hari, insinuates himself into an aristocratic British family as World War II escalates.<br><br>On occasions unsparing in its study of personal dramas and racial differences, the <i>Raj Quartet </i>is at all times profoundly humane, not least in the author&#8217;s capacity to identify with a huge range of characters. It is also illuminated by delicate social comedy and wonderful evocations of the Indian scene, all narrated in luminous prose.<br><br>The other two novels in the Raj Quartet, <i>The Towers of Silence</i> and <i>A Division of the Spoils</i>, are also available from Everyman&#8217;s Library. 698034 3 7 2007 The Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion (Everyman's Library) total:24|5:14|4:7|3:1|2:2|1:0| 24 105 48 6 4 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 10:10:05 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 18:14:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 04:58:33 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 09:55:05 -0800 2008
http://www.powells.com/review/2008_01_29...

Praises the introduction by Hilary Spurling as reason enough to buy the book, but highlights the importan...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Oct 08 02:38:27 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 11 22:29:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Dec 30 14:20:31 -0800 2008 Sat Apr 04 08:37:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 15 06:05:36 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 19:10:44 -0800 2008
I loved the meticulously detailed description of the physical landscape of India, too. ]]> 0 0 false false Sun Sep 21 13:16:01 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 13:17:36 -0700 2008
- Chris C.]]> 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 12:42:49 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 12:42:49 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jul 29 15:29:29 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 15:29:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jul 15 11:22:31 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 11:22:31 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jun 30 19:47:45 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 19:47:45 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Apr 22 19:16:02 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 19:16:10 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 11 10:44:56 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 10:45:03 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 14:48:50 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 14:49:21 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jun 08 09:29:33 -0700 2009 Wed Dec 10 08:33:19 -0800 2008 Mon Jun 08 09:29:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Dec 09 17:29:21 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 17:29:21 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Oct 10 14:01:48 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 14:26:04 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Oct 02 09:40:10 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 09:40:14 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Sep 22 14:32:25 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 14:32:25 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Aug 20 05:21:32 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 05:21:32 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Aug 06 19:14:24 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 19:14:47 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=711772