Scott, Paul – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Mon, 15 May 2023 13:21:19 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Scott, Paul – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion: A BBC Radio 4 full https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/raj-quartet-the-jewel-in-the-crown-the-day-of-the-scorpion-a-bbc-radio-4-full/ Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/raj-quartet-the-jewel-in-the-crown-the-day-of-the-scorpion-a-bbc-radio-4-full/ An epic full-cast dramatisation of Paul Scott’s classic series of novels charting the last days ofthe British Raj.

Spanning the years from 1942 to 1947, this landmark saga explores the relationships between an array of soldiers and civilians stationedin India, as the sun sets on British colonial rule.

As The Jewel in the Crown opens, World War II is at its height and Gandhi is calling for the British to leave. When Daphne Manners arrives in Mayapore, she meets two men who will change her life: Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick. She begins to fall for Hari, but Ronald Merrick – the local police superintendent – becomes infatuated with her and seethes with hatred for Hari.

The Day of the Scorpion finds Merrick worming his way into the Layton family, and his treatment of Hari Kumar is revealed. In The Towers of Silence, it is summer 1945, and as the war ends Mabel Layton’s companion Barbie Batchelor is forced to leave her home in Pankot. In A Division of the Spoils, Sergeant Guy Perron arrives to witness India’s independence, while the Laytons plan for their future – but the division of the country will spark tragic consequences for many.

The extensive, star-studded cast includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House, Motherland), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster), Geraldine James (who also starred in the film of The Jewel in the Crown), Mark Bazeley (Broadchurch), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me) and Nina Wadia (Eastenders).

Duration: 9 hours approx.

]]> Jewel In The Crown https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/jewel-in-the-crown/ Fri, 01 Feb 2002 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/jewel-in-the-crown/ ___________________
NOW A BBC RADIO 4 EXTRA DRAMATISATION STARRING ANNA MAXWELL MARTIN AND PRASANNA PUWANARAJAH
___________________
BOOK ONE OF THE RAJ QUARTET

India 1942: everything is in flux. World War II has shown that the British are not invincible and the self-rule lobby is gaining many supporters. Against this background, Daphne Manners, a young English girl, is brutally raped in the Bibighat Gardens. The racism, brutality and hatred launched upon the head of her young Indian lover echo the dreadful violence perpetrated on Daphne and reveal the desperate state of Anglo-Indian relations.

The rift that will eventually prise India – the jewel in the Imperial Crown – from colonial rule is beginning to gape wide.
___________________

‘A major work, a glittering combination of brilliant craftsmanship, psychological perception and objective reporting… Rarely have the sounds and smells and total atmosphere been so evocatively suggested’ – New York Times

‘Absorbing and brilliant… A triumph’ – Evening Standard

‘One of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction… A mighty literary experience’ – The Times

‘Quite simply, monumental’ – Washington Post

]]>