The story of
The Raj Quartet begins in 1942.
World War II is at its zenith, and in
South East Asia, the
Allied forces have suffered great losses.
Burma has fallen, and the Japanese invasion of the
Indian subcontinent from the east appears imminent. The year 1942 is also marked by Indian nationalist leader
Mahatma Gandhi's call for the
Quit India movement to the British rulers of India.
The Raj Quartet is set in this tumultuous background for the British soldiers and civilians stationed in India who have a duty to manage this part of the
British Empire, known as the "jewel in the crown" of the
British monarch. One recurrent theme is the moral certainty of the older generation as contrasted with the
anomie of the younger. Another theme is the treatment of Indians by Britons living in India. As a reflection of these themes, the British characters let themselves be "trapped by codes and principles, which were in part to keep their own fears and doubts at bay." Most of the major characters suffer difficulties, and some die, either because they try to follow codes which have become outmoded (Ahmed Kasim, Merrick, Teddie Bingham) or because they reject the codes and become outsiders (Kumar, Lady and Daphne Manners, Sarah Layton). Some critics have compared
The Raj Quartet to the epic novels of Proust and Tolstoy. Though some critics have thought the
Quartet to be a straightforward example of nineteenth-century style
realism, others have argued that its non-linear narrative style and occasional "outburst of dreams, hallucinations and spiritual revelations" give it an added dimension. The main characters of the first novel are Daphne Manners, a young Englishwoman who has recently arrived in India, and her British-educated Indian paramour, Hari Kumar. Ronald Merrick, a British police officer belonging to the
Indian Police Service, is another main character. By the end of the series the narrative lead is taken by Guy Perron. ==Reception==