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A review by sophb84
The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott
3.0
So I was watching Sebastian Faulks on TV last year. We were in Robin Hood’s Bay for another cancelled football match in Whitby. The show was about literary villains and Tim Pigott Smith’s character in the TV adaptation of ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ was Mr Faulks’ favourite. A man named Ronald Merrick. I was talking to my Mum just before Christmas explaining this and that I wouldn’t mind the quartet. Low and behold, Santa brought them for me.
Jewel in the Crown is the first of the set which are set in India at a time when British and Indian forces were falling out badly. It focuses on the rape of a young English woman named Daphne Manners and her relationship with Hari Kumar. It starts off slowly, putting into context the political tension of the time and tells the story through a variety of key players. It starts with the missionary school teacher who gets wrapped up in the riots. Then it moves on and gradually builds up the picture until finally, you find out what happened from Daphne. Only then do you see how the attitude of the white men caused the whole situation to boil out of control leaving a train of destruction in its wake.
Written in 1966, it might not have the pace required for many modern audiences but it is a wonderfully slow climb to the top and leaves you with a feeling of disappointment and almost disgust in the way the British controlled India. A bit hard going to start with but well worth the effort when you reach the end.
Jewel in the Crown is the first of the set which are set in India at a time when British and Indian forces were falling out badly. It focuses on the rape of a young English woman named Daphne Manners and her relationship with Hari Kumar. It starts off slowly, putting into context the political tension of the time and tells the story through a variety of key players. It starts with the missionary school teacher who gets wrapped up in the riots. Then it moves on and gradually builds up the picture until finally, you find out what happened from Daphne. Only then do you see how the attitude of the white men caused the whole situation to boil out of control leaving a train of destruction in its wake.
Written in 1966, it might not have the pace required for many modern audiences but it is a wonderfully slow climb to the top and leaves you with a feeling of disappointment and almost disgust in the way the British controlled India. A bit hard going to start with but well worth the effort when you reach the end.