Paul Scott won the 1977 Booker Prize for Staying On, a sequel to his Raj Quartet. Four months later, on 1 March 1978, he died, aged 57. His award' coincided with a revival of interest in British India - in radio and television series as well as innumerable other books on the subject.
For Richard Rhodes James. who describes himself as ' a child of the Raj ', Scott's Quartet and its sequel have a special poignancy.