The Raj Quartet, Volume 1: The Jewel in the Crown

The Raj quartet -- which begins with the Jewel in the Crown -- is a meticulously thorough and detailed examination of the last days of the British empire in India. All four novels in the quartet circle around a single event -- the rape of an English girl by persons unknown in 1942. This is not an original novel. Scott borrows his story from Forester ("A Passage to India") tosses in a little Kipling, injects a Mother Teresa clone (Was Scott influenced by Mother Teresa or was she influenced by Scott?), Gandhi, and "Freedom at Midnight." He has the usual British obsession with social class. But nobody has ever examined so minutely the British Raj. In fact, the main criticism of the novel might be that Scott tells far more than you wanted to know about the British in India. Scott's characterizations are marvelous and always changing as he shifts viewpoints. Mildren Layton is despicable in the third book of the quartet, but rehabilitated slightly in the fourth. The policeman Ronald Merrick is fascinating: menacing, pathetic, courageous, cruel, and brilliant in turn. An American would portray him as a flawed hero who rose above his humble origins through hard work and diligence. To the British, he is a villain for exactly the same reasons. The Raj Quartet is not for everybody. It presumes that you have knowledge about India and the British empire. It's a little tedious in places. I thought the fourth novel in the quartet was a bust, until it redeemed itself with a dynamite conclusion about the last days of British India, the horrific communal violence between Muslim and Hindu, the fate of Ronald Merrick, and the return to the story of Hari Kumar, the tragic Indian boy who loved and lost the English girl raped in the Bibighar Gardens in 1942. I don't read nor enjoy much of what is considered "good" literature, but the Raj Quartet is an exception. This is an exceptional novel by any standards.

Hari Kumar's father made every effort to ensure his son would grow up to become the perfect Anglo-Indian executive. Hari was raised in England and was attended by a governess and later a tutor. He attended Chillingborough a top school known for its production of British Civil Servants. Eventually, Hari was to return to India to work for the Indian Civil Service. Unfortunately, external forces disrupted his life and although he returned to India, it was not in the circumstances his father had planned. THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN is the story of Hari's life.THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN is Book I in the series written by Paul Scott known as the Raj Quartet. JEWEL is a complete novel, but it also lays the groundwork for the three other books in the series. The later books elaborate the story laid out in Book 1. Although Hari is absent from large sections of the text in Books 2-4, he is the main character from the beginning to the end. He is the invisible presence who haunts the other characters. He may symbolize India, but As Daphne Manners says in her journal, he is his own simile. JEWEL takes place in 1942, mostly in India. Hari's story is a composite developed from many viewpoints--court depositions, recorded hearing proceedings, journals, and the personal remembrances of those who him. The narrator piecing the story together appears to be a writer or reporter describing the so-called Mayapore riots of 1942 and their aftermath in the years following. Pandit Baba, an Indian scholar, says in a Book 2 that the word "riot" is a misnomer. The English say it was a riot but the Indians say it was a lawful protest by a people who had suffered outrage and wanted Independance.The Raj Quartet reminds me of Jane Austin's novels --especially her later books MANSFIELD PARK and EMMA. Like Austin, Scott has a keen understanding of human nature. His characterizations of Harry and Daphne are flawless. He builds them one fine layer at a time until the reader is convinced they must have been "real" people. Scott also describes an historical place and the people who lived in it with what the reader can only believe is verismilitude. Like Austin, Scott brings an exquisite sense of timing to his storyline. The near misses and plot twists leave the reader breathless. And,like Austin, Scott's sense of irony is so deftly incorporated one can only wonder at the various possible interpretations of the text. JEWEL like India is difficult to understand. Scott has written his book in English, and as Hari Kumar's father said, English is a beautiful language but "it cannot be called truthful because its subtleties are infinite. It is the language of a people who have probably earned their reputation for perfidy."

I truly envy the reader who yet has to come across The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott. The four books are absolutely fantastic. Beginning with "The Jewel in the Crown" one sets out on a journey through the British Empire's last years of rule in India, and it is one magical trip. Scott portrays a group of people through the books, some main and some minor characters, but all are described vividly and distinctly, and it is nearly impossible to stop reading and follow these characters' destinies. The main story through which everything evolves is the love affair between a somewhat awkward English woman and a British top-school educated Indian, who has trouble finding his place in an India he does not know. Their relationship is looked upon with disgust, above all from the Police Inspector Merrick, one of the other leading characters through the four books. Merrick also has a soft spot for the English woman, Ms Manners, and is outraged and humiliated by the fact that she would prefer this Indian, Hari Kumar. His anger is naturally strengthened by Kumar's superior education and upbringing, his speaking English with a received pronuciation whereas Merrick himself has a working-class background he desperately tries to hide.But this is only one of the stories that the books describe; there are many different characters and families that interact somewhat, we leap forward and backward, some people meet each other, some don't -but it is all beautifully tied together to the backdrop of the political instability that would eventually lead to the end of British rule. The books give, apart from superb story-telling and interesting characters, a profound lesson in modern history in this part of the world. Scott is very objective and as a reader you develop both warm and resentful feelings to the British and the Indians alike. A superb read deeply recommended.

This is an absolutely brilliant work. Read all 4 volumes -- don't stop with this first volume. Scott begins this volume with "...this is the story of a rape..." As the work progresses the rape, and the people involved in it, become symbols of India, of the Raj - and become much larger than mere characters.That said, the characterization is incredible -- even minor characters who appear only briefly are cunningly sketched. The stories are gripping. I read all 4 volumes in about a month. I just couldn't put it down. Finishing it, I was left knowing more -- and knowing less -- about India during the decline of British rule. I think that is what Scott intended.

This novel, and the three following it, which together comprise the "Raj Quartet" are not to be missed. The fascinating stories of a dozen or so people in India during the last years of British rule are told from several different points of view throughout the entire series, and with each retelling, new impressions and opinions are expressed by the characters. New information is also relayed each time, adding new layers and propelling the story forward. The technical skill with which Scott manages to present so many different points of view alone makes the series worth reading. The incidental history lesson provided also adds a great deal. But it is the literary skill displayed that makes me rate these four novels near, if not at, the top of my list.Be warned - these are not easy reads, especially if your knowledge of India under British rule is as limited as mine! The effort is well worth it, however.