Books I’ve read

A super, Booker Prize-winner of a book. This delightful story tells of an ageing British couple, Colonel and Memsahib, who stayed on in India after Independence in 1947. He continued working for a variety of government and state organisations (it is never really clear exactly what the Col. Smalley did for a living) but was eventually pensioned off and, over his wife’s protests, they stayed on for even longer.

The story covers just a few months around the time of his 70th birthday, and beautifully describes the (early 1970s) present and the past in relation to India, England and the way things have changed for both sides. Despite the amusement that one feels while reading, it is tinged with a sadness for the elderly in general, and a sympathy for those growing old in a strange land - even though they’ve lived there for over 30 years.

Staying On becomes more like Hanging On by the time you’ve finished reading.

Paul Scott also wrote the award-winning Raj Quartet, which like Staying On, was made into a successful TV series, known as The Jewel in The Crown.

First published in paperback in 1978 by Panther Books. You can find this at AbeBooks.co.uk or Alibris.co.uk

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