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An epic full-cast dramatisation of Paul Scott's classic series of novels charting the last days ofthe British Raj. Spanning the years from 1942 to 1947, this landmark saga explores the relationships between an array of soldiers and civilians stationedin India, as the sun sets on British colonial rule.As The Jewel in the Crown opens, World War II is at its height and Gandhi is calling for the British to leave. When Daphne Manners arrives in Mayapore, she meets two men who will change her show more life: Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick. She begins to fall for Hari, but Ronald Merrick - the local police superintendent - becomes infatuated with her and seethes with hatred for Hari.The Day of the Scorpion finds Merrick worming his way into the Layton family, and his treatment of Hari Kumar is revealed. In The Towers of Silence, it is summer 1945, and as the war ends Mabel Layton's companion Barbie Batchelor is forced to leave her home in Pankot. In A Division of the Spoils, Sergeant Guy Perron arrives to witness India's independence, while the Laytons plan for their future - but the division of the country will spark tragic consequences for many.The extensive, star-studded cast includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House, Motherland), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster), Geraldine James (who also starred in the film of The Jewel in the Crown), Mark Bazeley (Broadchurch), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me) and Nina Wadia (Eastenders).Duration: 9 hours approx. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Cecrow Strong parallels between 'Passage' and the first volume of the quartet.
Member Reviews
חוויה נדירה. כחודשיים הייתי שקוע בספר הזה במשך שעות ארוכות כל יום בזמן שאני סגור בבית או בבתי חולים חולה. למעשה ביליתי את החודשים האלו בהודו. המדינה שאף פעם לא רציתי לבקר בה. עדיין אינני רוצה אבל הספר הזה עורר את העניין שלי בה באופן דרמתי. הספר הוא אינסופי, מרתק, מחנך, כתוב יפהפה ואתה טובע בתוכו כמו בהרפתקאת אהבים. הסיבה היחידה שלא קיבל ממני חמישה כוכבים זה הסתייגויות טכניות מסוימות (הנטייה של הסופר לתת לגיבורים show more שלו לפצוח בנאומים אינסופיים בסיטואציות הפחות מתאימות) וכן גם החולשה היחסית של הספר הרביעי ברביעיה. show less
One of my favorite guilty pleasures, this is a portrait of cultural conflict in the waning days of the British Empire in India, through the eyes of a military family during WWII.
This is a step up from romance novels, good beach read. Scott develops his heroines about as well as Ernest Hemingway, which is to say, not very well. What you read this for is historical detail at the personal, familial level. It's best attribute is to portray the deeply conflicted last generation of the raj class in India who no longer believe in the empire that they represent in a country that they do not understand.
This is a step up from romance novels, good beach read. Scott develops his heroines about as well as Ernest Hemingway, which is to say, not very well. What you read this for is historical detail at the personal, familial level. It's best attribute is to portray the deeply conflicted last generation of the raj class in India who no longer believe in the empire that they represent in a country that they do not understand.
Informative, as good to watch as to read. Will the world ever recover from Colonialism?
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Author Information
27+ Works 6,914 Members
Author Paul Scott was born in England on March 25, 1920. At the age of 16, he left the Winchmore Hill Collegiate School because of financial difficulties and started a career as an accountant. In 1940, he joined the army and was sent to India. After World War II, he worked as an accountant for two small publishing houses and then as a literary show more agent. In 1952, he published his first novel Johnny Sahib and in 1960, he decided to become a full-time author. He is best-known for his series the Raj Quartet and his novel Staying On won the 1977 Booker Prize. He also wrote reviews and was a visiting professor at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He died on March 1, 1978. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Belongs to Publisher Series
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Contains
Has the adaptation
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1976
- Important places
- India
- Important events
- World War II; British Raj (1857 | 1947)
- Related movies
- The Jewel in the Crown (1984 | IMDb)
Classifications
- Genres
- General Fiction, Fiction and Literature, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ4 .S428 — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction in English
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 662
- Popularity
- 43,275
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.35)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 18
