A compelling set of of historical novels set in India during and in the immediate aftermath of World War II as British rule there winds up and ends. The stories follow a somewhat shifting set of British and Indian characters through turbulent times and pulls no punches in examining the complex and difficult situations faced by the people living through them. This is not a romanticized treatment of the subject, but is in no way dry or dull. While no book could cover the breadth of the vast commonplaces and surprises of India, it still provides more than a mere glimpse into it's abundant variety of communities and contradictions.
It includes four long novels starting with The Jewel in the Crown, and includes a coda in the form of a fifth shorter book, Staying On, looking at an elderly couple who remain in India well after the Raj has rolled up and gone home.
by econoquist