Book description
BOOK ONE OF THE RAJ QUARTET
India 1942: everything is in flux. World War II has shown that the
British are not invincible and the self-rule lobby is gaining many
supporters. Against this background, Daphne Manners, a young English
girl, is brutally raped in the Bibighat Gardens. The racism, brutality
and hatred launched upon the head of her young Indian lover echo the
dreadful violence perpetrated on Daphne and reveal the desperate state
of Anglo-Indian relations. The rift that will eventually prise India -
the jewel in the Imperial Crown - from colonial rule is beginning to
gape wide.
Paul Scott was born in London in 1920. He served in the army from
1940 to 1946, mainly in India and Malaya. He is the author of thirteen
distinguished novels including his famous The Raj Quartet. In 1977,
Staying On won the Booker Prize. Paul Scott died in 1978.
