In this sequel to "The Raj Quartet", Colonel Tusker and Lucy Smalley
stay on in the hills of Pankot after Indian independence deprives them
of their colonial status. Finally fed up with accommodating her husband,
Lucy claims a degree of independence herself. Eloquent and hilarious,
she and Tusker act out class tensions among the British of the Raj and
give voice to the loneliness, rage, and stubborn affection in their
marriage. "Staying On" won the Booker Prize and was made into a motion
picture starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in 1979.
" "Staying On" far transcends the events of its central action. . . .
[The work] should help win for Scott . . . the reputation he
deserves--as one of the best novelists to emerge from Britain's silver
age".--Robert Towers, "Newsweek"
"Scott's vision is both precise and painterly. Like an engraver
cross-hatching in the illusion of fullness, he selects nuances that will
make his characters take on depth and poignancy".--Jean G. Zorn, "New
York Times Book Review"
"A graceful comic coda to the earlier song of India. . . . No one
writing knows or can evoke an Anglo-Indian setting better than
Scott".--Paul Gray, "Time"