Paul Scott died at the height of his powers as a novelist. After the sustained historical inquiry of the

The Raj Quartet

, he found contemporary India in

Staying On

(1977) offered him the chance to proffer a new outlook on the British in India and the legacy of the raj. The main characters of

Staying On

are Lucy and Tusker Smalley, retired Anglo-Indians who were minor characters in

The Raj Quartet

where they were the lowliest members of the pukka elite of Pankot. In the earlier novels, they were tolerated by raj society and the reader was never encouraged to sympathize with them. Lucy's character was shown exclusively from the outside and her comments on Scott's heroine, Sarah Layton, suggested an unquestioning, small-minded snob of entirely traditional sensibilities. Only her typing-pool…

1758 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "Staying On". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1913, accessed 28 March 2024.]

1913 Staying On 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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