Book 3 of the Raj Quartet
So, after already reading about 1,000 pages about two assaults on English women during the uprising of the Indian people in Mayapore in 1942, you may wonder what more the author Paul Scott can possibly have to say on the matter. Well, this time the main focus falls on Miss Barbara (Barbie) Bachelor, who was a teacher in one of the Mission schools in Mayapore, but moved to the British army station at Pankot on her retirement. She moved in 1939, so was not living in Mayapore at the time of the assaults, but took a very keen interest in any news relating to them as the elderly lady who had been beaten by a mob was a friend of hers from the Mission school.
On retirement, Barbie lost the right to live in her accommodation but, just ahead of her final day at the school, she noticed an advertisment in the Ranpur Gazette placed by another older lady seeking a companion to share her bungalow. The arrangement seemed heaven sent so Barbie wasted no time in writing to Mrs Mabel Layton outlining her personal history and current situation. The ladies found themselves to be perfectly matched and without delay Barbie moved into Rose Cottage.
She wanted to become one of the family but Mrs Layton's step daughter-in-law Mildred was quite put out that she and her two grown girls had not been invited to leave their grace and favour bungalow and move into the more comfortable surroundings of Rose Cottage. This bone of contention raises it's ugly head time and again and Mildred's dislike and near obsession of Barbie grows with each passing day.
This cast of characters consisting of so many women gives the author an opportunity to examine the effects of prolonged war on the families left behind, and each has their own set of problems to deal with. Mildred's Lt Colonel husband has been taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese, and there is very little news of him coming through. Her two daughters enjoy the social life of the station and have plenty of young officers ready and willing to take them out. Many times an officer begins by dating the eldest girl, Sarah, and then a few weeks later she loses them to her younger sister Susan. Their mother believes that Sarah doesn't seem that interested in finding a husband and she is at an age where she should at least be engaged. What Sarah really wants to do is break free of the family and discover a bit more of India for herself.
As well as the family set-up, the author is able to highlight many of the behaviours and attitudes of the army women stationed in India and, although I am a British woman, they seem as alien to me as the Indian Officer's wives. Their status on the station is detrmined by the army rank held by the husbands, and it even matters what regiment he serves in as some are considered superior to others. All the serving staff and tonga (taxi) drivers are Indian and they are very rarely treated with respect. Manners and etiquette between the women are of paramount importance, as is the need to maintain a 'stiff upper lip' under all circumstances. One woman whose husband is killed in battle refuses to cry in front of her friends as she doesn't want to embarass herself, and another has a baby after her husband is killed, and when she develops post-partum psychosis, the other women whisper to each other that she should buck up quickly as it looks bad for the station.
As there was so much focus on the women and families I enjoyed this book a bit more than the last one which concentrated on the arrests of Indian men suspected of being responsible for the assualts. I was also grateful that it was so long and absorbing because I had a cold at the time and didn't feel like doing anything other than slump into the chair.
I already have Book 4 in my grasp, but it's another 600 pages so it will be at least a week before I get to the end and I will certainly feel as though I have achieved something after completing the quartet.
You can read my reviews of the other two books via these links:
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