101 Books, Number 24

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

24: The Raj Quartet, 1965–75, by Paul Scott (1920–78)

Paul Scott had only newly died

When I began The Raj Quartet—

Four novels,* all of which were set

In India while British tried

To keep their dominance in force—

But local people—culture, too—

We pushing all toward something new—

And so the British left, of course.

I loved those books—and learned so much,

For Scott had done the needed work—

The research (clearing all the murk)—

Completed with his artist’s touch.

I passed them on to reading friends,

Who then devoured the series, too—

And watched the films (so good, so true)**—

Then grieved because a good thing ends.

*The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), A Division of the Spoils (1975)

**The Jewel in the Crown, 1984