Paul Scott, Staying On

Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1977

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Paul Scott died at the height of his powers as a novelist. After the sustained historical inquiry of the

The Raj Quartet

, he found contemporary India in

Staying On

(1977) offered him the chance to proffer a new outlook on the British in India and the legacy of the raj. The main characters of

Staying On

are Lucy and Tusker Smalley, retired Anglo-Indians who were minor characters in

The Raj Quartet

where they were the lowliest members of the pukka elite of Pankot. In the earlier novels, they were tolerated by raj society and the reader was never encouraged to sympathize with them. Lucy's character was shown exclusively from the outside and her comments on Scott's heroine, Sarah Layton, suggested an unquestioning, small-minded snob of entirely traditional sensibilities. Only her typing-pool…

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1758 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "Staying On". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1913, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Paul Scott, Staying On

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