Paul Scott

Paul Scott was an acclaimed British author, best known for what has come to be called “The Raj Quartet,” a series of four books about the British Empire in India. Scott wrote several other novels, plays and short stories before his death in 1978, and his work continues to have a strong influence on writers today.

Paul Scott was born in London in 1920 and he was educated at King’s College, Cambridge. After his military service in India during World War II, Scott traveled extensively in the Middle East and Europe. After a brief career as a technical photographer for Shell Oil Company, he began writing. His career as an author flourished in the 1950s and by 1959 his plays were being produced in both London and the United States.

In the early 1960s Scott returned to India, to a place he had become familiar with during his service in the Royal Air Force. It was during this time that he began to write The Raj Quartet, which was published in four parts: The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), and A Division of the Spoils (1975). The quartet tells the story of the last three months of British rule in India through the eyes of a cast of British, Indian, and Anglo-Indian characters. Through this story, Scott reveals the complicated relationship between Britain and India as it changed over the course of time.

Scott’s work was greatly acclaimed both in Britain and abroad. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for The Siege of Krishnapur, and other honors included the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Royal Society of Literature Heinemann Award, and a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature.

In addition to The Raj Quartet, Scott wrote several other novels including The Alien Sky (1959), The Hanging Sword (1960), Morris Dance (1965), and Johnnie Sahib (1972). He also wrote several plays, including The Alien Sky (1953), which was produced in both London and the United States, and The Chinese Prime Minister (1961). His short stories were featured in collections such as A Prime Minister’s Sword (1960).

The themes that Scott explored in his novels and plays spoke to the human experience of relationships, political change and cultural shifts. His stories explored the complexities of colonialism and its aftermath, and he was recognized for his unique voice and skill with language. The Raj Quartet remains an important part of English literature, and Scott’s work lives on in the minds and hearts of readers.