The Raj Quartetis a four-volumenovel sequence,written byPaul Scott,about the concluding years of theBritish Rajin India. The series was written during the period 1965–75.The Timescalled it "one of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction."[1]
| Author | Paul Scott |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Media type | Print (HardcoverandPaperback) |
Plot
editThe story ofThe Raj Quartetbegins in 1942.World War IIis at its zenith, and inSouth East Asia,theAllied forceshave suffered great losses.Burmahas fallen, and the Japanese invasion of theIndian subcontinentfrom the east appears imminent. The year 1942 is also marked by Indian nationalist leaderMahatma Gandhi's call for theQuit India movementto the British rulers of India.The Raj Quartetis set in this tumultuous background for the British soldiers and civilians stationed in India who have a duty to manage this part of theBritish Empire,known as the "jewel in the crown" of theBritish monarch.One recurrent theme is the moral certainty of the older generation as contrasted with theanomieof the younger.[2]Another theme is the treatment of Indians by Britons living in India.[3]As a reflection of these themes, the British characters let themselves be "trapped by codes and principles, which were in part to keep their own fears and doubts at bay."[4]Most of the major characters suffer difficulties, and some die, either because they try to follow codes which have become outmoded (Ahmed Kasim, Merrick, Teddie Bingham) or because they reject the codes and become outsiders (Kumar, Lady and Daphne Manners, Sarah Layton).[5] Some critics have comparedThe Raj Quartetto the epic novels of Proust and Tolstoy.[6]Though some critics have thought theQuartetto be a straightforward example of nineteenth-century stylerealism,others have argued that its non-linear narrative style and occasional "outburst of dreams, hallucinations and spiritual revelations" give it an added dimension.[7]
The main characters of the first novel are Daphne Manners, a young Englishwoman who has recently arrived in India, and her British-educated Indian paramour, Hari Kumar. Ronald Merrick, a British police officer belonging to theIndian Police Service,is another main character.
Reception
editSalman Rushdiewrote, "TheQuartet's form, tells us, in effect, that the history of the end of the Raj was largely composed of the doings of the officer class and its wife. Indians get walk-ons, but remain, for the most part, bit-players in their own history. "[8]Conversely,Tariq Alipraised the books for providing a nuanced class analysis of the British in India and the Anglicized Indian upper classes who served the British during the Raj and later took control over the country after the independence and the partition.[9]
The novels
editThe manner of narration is, especially in the first volume, looping and elliptical, shifting from 1942 to 1964 and back again, with detours back to the early 1900s. The voices shift as well as the perspective, from a third-person narrative about the doomed schoolteacher Edwina Crane to a first-person narration by another character, Lady Chatterjee, to a tour of Mayapore one evening in 1964.[10]This shifting chronology, while never confusing, has inspired much discussion.[11][12][13]
The four volumes are:
- The Jewel in the Crown(1966)
- The Day of the Scorpion(1968)
- The Towers of Silence(1971)
- A Division of the Spoils(1975)
Some of the characters are carried through to a further novel called
- Staying On(1977)
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
edit- 1984:The Jewel in the Crownis a television mini-series based upon parts of all four books. The selection of parts to be dramatised resulted in the series giving greater emphasis to the narrative as experienced and understood by the British characters as compared to the experiences of the Indian characters. The series was created byGranada TelevisionforITVand starredSusan Wooldridge,Art Malik,Om Puri,Geraldine James,Saeed Jaffrey,Karan Kapoor,Peggy Ashcroft,Judy Parfitt,Tim Pigott-SmithandCharles Dance.
- 2005: A 9-partBBC Radio 4adaptation under the original title, using the book titles as subtitles.
Notes
edit- ^Publisher's website
- ^For instance, inDay of the Scorpion,Sarah Layton envies the "self-assurance" of her older aunt. SeeDay of the Scorpion,Book Two Part Two ch. IV
- ^For example, inDay of the Scorpion,Hari Kumar describes how a group ofAnglo-Indianswere shocked at the egalitarian attitude displayed by a recent English immigrant towards an Indian. SeeDay of the ScorpionBook Two Part One Ch. I
- ^review ofRaj QuartetinThe Spectator
- ^P. Morey,Fictions of India: Narrative and Power,p.153
- ^Steinberg,Twentieth Century Epic Novels,p.125
- ^Morey,Fictions of India,p.158
- ^"Outside the Whale".March 1984.
- ^Ali, Tariq (December 1982)."Midnight's Children".New Left Review(I/136): 87–95.
- ^New York Timesreview of TV series
- ^N. Hale,Chronotopicity in Paul Scott's "The Raj Quartet"
- ^Lennard,The Raj Quartet and Staying On,p.17
- ^Eva Brann,Paul Scott's Raj Quintet,p.192