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Original poster

Fiction set in the British Empire/Raj

36 replies

MyCatIsBatman11 · 25/05/2015 17:40

A Passage to India has given me a thirst for more fiction set in the British Empire - all I can think of is the beginning of The Secret Garden and Rudyard Kipling's books. Any other recommendations?

OP posts:
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BitOfFun · 15/06/2015 21:05

Staying On by Paul Scott is fantastic. You really laugh and cry with the characters.

SecretSpi · 15/06/2015 21:03

"The Gift of Rain" by Tan Twan Eng - set in 1930s and 2ndWW Malaya/Penang - wonderful, wonderful book.

bethshart · 08/06/2015 12:51

Jane Gardam's Old Filth.

KatharineClifton · 06/06/2015 00:12

Oleander, Jacaranda by Penelope Lively. Probably others of hers too, but it's been too long since I've read them to remember.

alteredimages · 06/06/2015 00:01

Came on to recommend The Peacock Spring but see that Lapin has beaten me to it. My granny gave it to me when I was 11 (not sure what she was trying to say to me Confused) and it is one of the few books that I have carried with me into adulthood.

KatharineClifton · 05/06/2015 20:38

Ooh, and Karen Blixen's Out of Africa obviously :)

KatharineClifton · 05/06/2015 20:34

Oh, and Anita Diamant's Day after Night is partially Empire.

KatharineClifton · 05/06/2015 20:33

The 8.55 To Baghdad by Andrew Eames is amazing, but non-fiction.

Fiction wise The Secret River by Kate Grenville could just come under the Empire banner I suppose, and English Passengers by Matthew Kneale definitely does. Also Jane Campion's The Piano is a great book.

tripfiction · 05/06/2015 13:14

Ah, try Under The Jewelled Sky by Alison McQueen for India www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-in-india-mid-20th-century/

Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff, set in Java, Indonesia.

The Separation by Dinah Jeffries set in Malaya

Lilymaid · 02/06/2015 21:38

And another recommendation for JG Farrell: The Siege of Krishnapur. I will never forget the defences made of Victorian bits and pieces.
His othe finished book so: The Singapore Grip (set just before the Japanese invasion) and Troubles (Ireland just before the British left) are also excellent. There's also an unfinished book by him called The Hill Station.
A follow on book from the Raj Quartet by Paul Scott, called Staying On, is also worth a read.

Lokisglowstickofdestiny · 02/06/2015 21:30

Definitely the Siege of Krishnapur, studied it as an O level set text, loved it as a teenager and still love it. Also offered on kindle for £1.99 at the moment.

LapinDeBois · 29/05/2015 21:38

If you're happy to read children's/young adult books, then I would hugely recommend The Peacock Spring by Rumer Godden, about a teenage girl who goes from an English boarding school to live with her father in India. I absolutely love it - fantastic characters, and very atmospheric.

Once you've read the wonderful Raj quartet, don't forget the 'sequel', called Staying On.

cdtaylornats · 27/05/2015 14:23

Slightly different
The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling

thinkofablinkingnamewoman · 26/05/2015 17:55

Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald - her only book but it's an excellent saga that doesn't shy away from some of the tougher stuff

NadiaWadia · 26/05/2015 13:05

Oops silly me! I see you mention it in your OP and that's the whole point of the thread. That'll teach me to RTFT properly!

NadiaWadia · 26/05/2015 13:03

Another vote for Paul Scott's Raj Quartet, beginning with 'the Jewel in the Crown'. I first read them quite a few years ago and absolutely loved them. And had previously watched the TV series. Although I quite enjoyed Channel 4's recent series 'Indian Nights' (did you see it?) it was not a patch on the 'Jewel in the Crown' series. I don't know if 'Indian Nights' was based on books as well, does anyone know?

But surely the most famous classic book set during the 'Raj' is EM Forster's 'A Passage to India'? Surprised nobody has mentioned this yet.

tormentil · 26/05/2015 11:34

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

seconding The Death of Mr Love by Indra Sinha

Howcanitbe · 26/05/2015 08:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MorrisZapp · 25/05/2015 22:22

A Good Education for Girls is a Victorian romp, very dark and funny, about two sisters with a mad inventor dad, living in a rotting pile in England. Large chunks of it are set in India, it's very well done. Forget the authors name but it'll be on Amazon.

Fishandjam · 25/05/2015 22:13

Also, the early Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell - not the most literary of reads, but good storytelling and he's meticulous in his research.

Fishandjam · 25/05/2015 22:11

The John Masters novels are quite good, though perhaps rather dated now in terms of their attitudes/values. You also have to like whodunits!

magimedi · 25/05/2015 22:09

Jewel In The Crown is one of the best series of books I have ever read.

I really, really envy you having them for the first time.

Original poster
MyCatIsBatman11 · 25/05/2015 22:05

Ooh ta Duchess, great list

Howcanitbe I managed to catch bits and pieces of the Jewel In The Crown tv series on some obscure digital channel and enjoyed it - good to hear the books are great too! I might check them out

OP posts:
NannyR · 25/05/2015 19:31

this is a really good book, it's non-fiction but gives some interesting stories about the lives of ordinary British families living in India from late 1700s to 1945.

OttiliaVonBCup · 25/05/2015 18:36

Big second for the Siege of Krishnapur.
Brilliant book.