Paul Scott, A Division of the Spoils

Peter Childs (Newman University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1975

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

This is the fourth novel in Scott's The Raj Quartet , following on from The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion andThe Towers of Silence. Published in 1975, and then with the other three books as the Raj Quartet in 1976, A Division of the Spoils contains more humour than the previous novels, as though the overly light-hearted attitude of the demob-happy British towards Indian Independence was itself a factor in the carnage that followed. In terms of style, however, this use of comedy and irony points towards the levity of Scott's final novel, Staying On.

A Division of the Spoils is divided into two halves, the first set in the aftermath of the war in 1945, the …

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1629 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "A Division of the Spoils". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7210, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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