Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LA Joya De LA Corona | 1966 | Paul Scott | N/A |
| 2 | The Jewel in the Crown | 1966 | Paul Scott | Buy |
| 3 | The Day of the Scorpion | 1968 | Paul Scott | Buy |
| 4 | Staying On | 1977 | Paul Scott | N/A |
| 5 | The Towers of Silence | 1971 | Paul Scott | Buy |
| 6 | A Division of the Spoils | 1975 | Paul Scott | Buy |
The Raj Quartet is a four-novel sequence by Paul Scott, written between 1966 and 1975. The novels are set in India during the final years of British colonial rule, from 1942 through independence and partition in 1947. The four main novels are The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence, and A Division of the Spoils. Staying On (1977) is a standalone sequel that follows two characters from the quartet into post-independence India. It won the Booker Prize.
The first novel, The Jewel in the Crown, begins with the story of Daphne Manners, an English woman, and Hari Kumar, an Indian man raised in England, whose relationship exposes the racial and social fault lines of colonial India. The subsequent novels expand the cast and timeline, building a detailed portrait of both British and Indian communities during a period of enormous upheaval. The Times called the quartet “one of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction.” Scott drew on his own experience serving with the Indian army from 1943 to 1946. The series was adapted into a Granada Television production, The Jewel in the Crown, in 1984.