Paul Scott books

Complete list of books by Paul Scott, author of The Raj Quartet and the Booker Prize-winning Staying On, in reading order.

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Making of the Jewel in the Crown 1983 Buy
My Appointment with the Muse: Essays, 1961-75 1986 Buy
On Writing and the Novel: Essays 1987 Buy
Behind Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume I: The Early Years: 1940-1965 2011 Buy
Behind Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume II: The Quartet and Beyond: 1966-1978 2011 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Johnnie Sahib 1952 Buy
Six Days in Marapore 1953 Buy
The Alien Sky 1953 Buy
A Male Child 1956 Buy
The Chinese Love Pavilion 1960 Buy
The Birds of Paradise 1962 Buy
The Bender 1963 Buy
The Corrida at San Feliu 1964 Buy
Staying On 1977 Buy
The Mark of the Warrior 1979 Buy
After the Funeral 1979 Buy

The Raj Quartet Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
LA Joya De LA Corona 1966 N/A
The Jewel in the Crown 1966 Buy
The Day of the Scorpion 1968 Buy
Staying On 1977 N/A
The Towers of Silence 1971 Buy
A Division of the Spoils 1975 Buy

Paul Scott (1920-1978) was an English novelist who served in India, Burma, and Malaya during World War II. That experience shaped virtually all of his fiction. After the war he worked as a literary agent in London before turning to full-time writing in 1960.

Scott wrote 13 novels, but his reputation rests on The Raj Quartet, a four-volume sequence set during the last years of British India. Beginning with The Jewel in the Crown (1966) and continuing through The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), and A Division of the Spoils (1975), the novels examine the entangled lives of British and Indian characters as the empire ends. The series was adapted by Granada Television in the 1980s as The Jewel in the Crown, bringing Scott wide posthumous recognition.

Staying On (1977), a short coda following a minor couple from the Quartet who remain in India after independence, won the Booker Prize. Scott died in 1978, five months after the award ceremony, which he was too ill to attend. His earlier novels, from Johnnie Sahib (1952) onward, also deal with British life in India and Southeast Asia.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Paul Scott written?

Paul Scott has written 22 books across three series.

What was Paul Scott's first book?

Paul Scott’s first book is Johnnie Sahib, published in 1952.

What is The Raj Quartet about?

The Raj Quartet is a four-novel sequence set during the final years of British rule in India, from 1942 to 1947. The books explore the complex relationships between British and Indian people as the empire collapses. The series was adapted into the acclaimed 1984 TV drama The Jewel in the Crown.

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