Book description
BOOK TWO OF THE RAJ QUARTET
India, August 9th 1942. The morning brings raids and the arrest by
British police of Congress Party members. Amongst the prisoners is the
distinguished ex-Chief Minister Mohammed Ali Kasim. Loyal to the
party's central vision of a unified free India, his incarceration is a
symptom of the growing deterioration of Anglo-Indian relations.
For the long-serving British family, the Laytons, the political and
social ramifications are immediate, disturbing and tragic. Some, like
Ronald Merrick, believe that true intimacy between the races is
impossible; others, such as Sarah Layton, struggle to come to terms
with their Anglo-Indian past. With growing confusion and bewilderment,
the British are forced to confront the violent and often brutal years
that lie ahead of them.
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.
